Give Me Wings
by FairyKei
Summary: The Zodiac curse is back with a vengeance. The next generation, including Tohru and Kyo's daughter, has it rough, and Akito is back to her old ways again. New bonds are formed, new challenges are made and met. Can they finally alter their fate? Is it even possible? Review!
1. Chapter 1 A day of rain

Why, hello! I hope you enjoy reading my fanfiction. This whole chapter is a little depressing, but the whole story won't stay that way, haha. This story is partially based on the effects of the curse, partially on some romance between characters and partially on school life. Please vote/comment! Thanks.

Chapter 1: A day of rain

"So, what do you suppose this is about? The whole group of us hasn't been gathered together like this for a while," Kyo mused. "Being kneeled on the floor like this brings back memories."

"You know what. It's because of..." Yuki grimaced. "We're all back at the Main house together for, well, you know."

"No, you'll have to fill me in."

"You're so slow, Kyo."

"I am not!"

"Stupid cat."

"Damn rat."

They both caught each other's eye and gave a short chuckle. Kisa giggled. They were still keeping this up, though it had begun to feel less and less natural.

"Whatever it is, it can't be anything good," Hiro muttered. Kisa frowned.

"Way to dampen the mood, Hiro," Haru said. "You shouldn't do that. It makes Kisa feel uneasy."

"Well, I find it rather nostalgic to be back here, all gathered together!" Ayame said in a sing-song tone. "Especially to be reunited with my dear brother after such a long time!"

"As loud as ever, Ayame," Hatori sighed. He glanced out of the window at the slowly darkening grey sky, filled with menacing cloud. "It's going to pour down soon."

"Are you okay, Kyo?" Tohru asked, concerned.

"I keep telling you, the rain doesn't affect me anymore. Trust me, I'm fine," he said, his expression softening when he spoke to her.

The door to the large room opened, and because they were all knelt down, Akito looked taller than usual. She entered with Shigure, wearing a pale green Kimono and looking dangerous, like… like she used to, a long time ago.

Akito Sohma stood and observed her audience intently, watching their faces. Some, like Yuki, appeared tense and nervous, and some faces were confrontational, like Rin's. Whatever the expression, they all looked directly at Akito, kneeled down on the floor with rigid backs and hands resting in their laps.

The entire 'original' Zodiac had been gathered together this day to discuss the recent 'problems' they had been having with the curse. Also present were all the spouses and partners of the Zodiac, like Machi and Arisa, both of whom looked very uncomfortable, and were sitting close to Yuki and Kureno. They all knew what was going on, but no-one, not even Akito, had even an inkling of why. They thought the curse had been broken, but apparently not.

Shigure gave a concerned glance in Akito's direction; Akito looked… like the old her. The bad-tempered, insecure Akito, the one they all both feared and revered because of the bonds of the curse, the one that the younger members believed was male. Shigure had thought it was all over, that everyone had been able to put the past behind them and start afresh. Things were running perfectly until one day, not long after the curse broke, he had fallen ill, he transformed into his dog form. Akito had been shocked and distressed, and since then, their relationship had steadily been growing more strained. Even he couldn't tell what was on her mind now. It was all murky, uncertain.

"You all know why you're here…" Akito began, clearly trying to restrain herself. "There's been… a small hitch. It seems the curse has not broken."

Rin growled. "Damn right- seven of the Zodiacs have regressed back into the curse!"

"Silence!" Akito snapped, looking dangerous. "Seven of you sat before me have been… re-cursed in the past five years or so. The other six animals of the Zodiac… have manifested in the six children born in those five years, to six couples here."

Tohru looked at Kyo with knowing eyes. Their first child, their daughter Haruhi, had been born several weeks ago, and Kyo had felt the despair of a Zodiac parent when he had tried to hold his child, and she had transformed into the bird from the Chinese Zodiac. It had been difficult, but they felt like they were managing.

"Shigure, Momiji, Kagura, Ayame, Hatsuharu, Hiro, and Ritsu- you have all been struck with the curse again, so you all know what that means."

"We have to live in the main house again?" Hiro uttered in disbelief, having sensed this would be coming.

"Yes, and you alone. It is clear that the curse will not break, even with the help of an outsider, which is just as I predicted. So, I want all Zodiac members, including the new children, to live in the main house… in confinement! Without their families!" Akito said, her voice steadily rising in volume until she was shouting.

"No!" Hiro yelled. He took Kisa's hand in both of his. "I won't leave Kisa. Even if I do get to take my son, the horse, with me, I can't leave Kisa behind."

"You're not taking my daughter!" Kyo protested. "This is stupid- you don't got to overreact to this! Living together in confinement? It's mad."

"Kyo…" Tohru mumbled sadly. "I don't want Haruhi taken away from us. She'll lose the most precious... precious things."

"And the cat kid especially… I am rebuilding the cat compound and the isolated room… for the bad ones. Ayame and Mine, you'll have to give up your daughter, the cat, for this."

"We can't!" Mine cried. Ayame put his hand on her shoulder in warning.

"So, all the Zodiac members are being taken away from their families to live in confinement. What do the rest of us do?" Yuki asked, who, up until now, had remained silent, holding Machi's hand. Give up his daughter, the tiger? He couldn't.

"I couldn't care less," Akito sighed. "It seems you've all gotten disobedient. I may have to re-educate some of you."

"But, we're adults, you can't hold us!" Hiro shouted, getting a sense of hopelessness.

Nothing, nothing could break the bonds of blood between God and the Zodiac. He wanted to protest more, but the words Akito spoke now pierced his soul and pinned it to the ground, forcing him into submission. Words that would normally be brushed away, when said by Akito caused a pain in his heart that wouldn't subside.

"BE QUIET!" Akito roared, and she tore over to where Hiro was knelt. She grabbed Hiro by the hair and shook him violently. He was powerless to resist.

"No!" Kisa sobbed, and she put her hand out to stop her. Akito slapped it away, seething.

"You can't do anything about it! These are bonds of blood- they can't be broken. A fine job you did, Tohru Honda! Ha ha! You only managed to break the curse temporarily- you failed! Now how do you feel? Accomplished? Happy? No! Because you- can't- do- a thing! And you never will- these bonds are unbreakable!"

"Akito!" Shigure yelled, and ran over to restrain her. "Akito, this has to stop."

"Shut up, dog!"

"But, Akito… Akito, we're… Have you forgotten these past few years? You were just learning how to live again!"

Everyone was a little surprised. No-one had really seen Shigure so emotional about something. Then again, this was a momentous day for not only him, but everyone else.

"You are nothing to me now, but a dog. Now kneel!"

Shigure had no choice. He knelt to the floor in defeat. His dream of Akito happy and curse-free had been crushed. Now he would be on the same level as the others, living isolated in the compound for the rest of his days. He had thought they were happy, spending each day, slowly healing, sat beside each other and smiling. All the times when they had embraced, when they had kissed and slept side by side, were all going away, steadily becoming nothing more than a memory.

Everyone in the room looked either devastated or furious. Arisa was completely confused. Kureno had only recently divulged to her the secrets of his life so far, like why the first time he visited a convenience store was when he was twenty five, or that his curse had actually been broken since he was a teenager. This family was crazy. All the ordinary people were flummoxed by the Sohmas' ways.

"So… All those members with Zodiac children, get them, now. They're being looked after by the servants, yes? Then go and get them, and bring them here. After that, the only ones who are allowed, no, obligated to stay are those who are cursed. Parents who are cursed can stay, however, I will be asking Hatori to erase their memories of them.

Those who aren't… oh, who cares? Say your goodbyes and get out of here!" Akito spat.

Tohru and Kyo rose slowly, Tohru crying quietly into Kyo's chest. Yuki had his arm around Machi, who stared despondently at the floor. Ayame held Mine's elbow and guided her to the door, whilst Haru, Rin, Kisa and Hiro all exited in a small huddle.

The people who returned were Ayame, Haru and Hiro with all the Zodiac children. Haru was shaking.

"Why hell is this happening?" he burst out, holding his son-the rat- to his chest, and Kureno and Arisa's son, the dragon. "Dammit, why?"

"Careful Hatsuharu, you don't want to turn black with those two in your arms," Akito casually reminded him.

Ayame was pushing a large pushchair with the three girls- the bird, the tiger and the cat- inside. Hiro held his son, the horse.

Haru placed the sleeping toddlers on the floor and punched the wall nearest to him. "Rin! I had to leave Rin! Yuki, Kyo, they all had to leave their kids! This sucks, you bastard!"

The bird, the youngest at one month old, began to whimper softly, and the four month old cat and six month old tiger moaned in response, like they were communicating in their sleep. The one year old rat boy was sucking his thumb, blissfully unaware, the two year old dragon and horse doing the same, like magnets. Hiro glanced down at them. Mad, he thought, Zodiac bonds like that already. And they're so young, too.

Rain began to pour outside, slapping hard on the roof above.

The Zodiacs who remained fell to their knees, with no tears, their jawlines hard in steely endurance. Haru's face was desolate, and his now barely restrained rage had gone past the point of violence.

"Well," Akito said, "Ready to… start again?"


	2. Chapter 2 The river of time flows again

Hi, people! Thank you for reviewing and reading my story, please do so again! I really appreciate your comments. To the person (anon) who pointed out several 'flaws' within my first chapter, I am sorry you didn't find my story to your liking, but 1: I have actually read the manga, I own all the books and enjoy them, 2: It is a FANfiction, so anything can happen regarding the plotline. The curse reforming , and Akito regressing is all plausible in my universe. 3: Five years on from the manga, Kisa is 19 years old and Hiro 20, so it is perfectly possible they could have a child.  
>I'd also like to point out my horrendous paragraphing skills, so sorry about that!<br>I hope you enjoy it

Chapter 2- The river of time flows again, fifteen years onwards

Haruhi was sitting in the corner of the isolated room. She was perfectly justified in her actions, so she thought, but her outburst had led to her being locked up for a month to be 're-educated', in the words of Akito, who was still keeping all the Zodiacs confined within the grounds of the main house. The situation had been the same at the main house for fifteen years- unchanging, like everyone had been frozen, and the world 'outside' carried on as normal. No-one could object, though, no matter how much they wanted to.

Akito spent whole days at a time with each Zodiac, just sat on the floor in her room, close to each other, talking softly. Haruhi was slightly unnerved that she actually felt reverence and admiration towards Akito from deep down in her soul, the voice of her bird spirit, but she herself feared Akito greatly, and wanted to get away from her. Her soul clung to Akito with all its strength, but her mind and body were pulling away, to no avail. All those times, hearing Akito's chilling whispers, the light touch of her hand on her cheek, sometimes embracing, sometimes facing each other. The urge to shiver and cringe away was present, but the chains of the curse held strongly.

Haruhi had never actually met the older members of the Zodiac, who were now mostly in their thirties or forties; they lived closer to the edge of the grounds- closer to freedom, but still confined. The 'next generation', such as herself, were kept right next to Akito's mansion, in their own rooms. They were allowed to do what they wanted, and when, as long as they weren't seen interacting with each other, in case they got 'bad ideas' from each other, whatever that meant. Those who misbehaved seriously were locked in the isolated room, there for as long as Akito saw fit. The cat girl, whom she had never even seen, had been locked up since early childhood. Haruhi was only vaguely aware of this fact; the world she lived in had been too harsh for her to care too much about the cat.

A shadow appeared at the door, a shadow of two bare feet. She saw the shadow of the swish of a kimono, before seeing the door handle slowly move downwards.

Akito stepped in, looking perfectly calm, but Haruhi knew that this could change any second. If there was anything Akito was good at, it was losing her temper.

"Haruhi," Akito began, "You've been in here for a while, haven't you? The longest you've ever been."

Haruhi, with false conviction, folded her arms, acting braver than she felt inside. Inside, she was trembling.

"Well, that's not good, is it?"

Akito extracted a wooden rod from inside the arm of her kimono, and curled her fingers, one by one, around the middle, her knuckles going white. Haruhi closed her eyes. It was coming.

"When are you going to learn?" Akito yelled, and strode over to where she was sat. "When are you going to learn to be happy with God? You think that standing up in my presence, standing in front of me, and telling me I was wrong was the right thing to do? You think that was justified? The Zodiac is meant to stay by God's side, to live in companionship, and you know it hurts me deeply when you betray my trust in you."

"You were going to hurt the tiger, Naoko…"

"Naoko also deserved what she got, for speaking out against me," Akito sighed. "I'll let you out when learn how to co-operate. The cat girl never makes a sound, and the three boys are obedient. The older members don't bother me either, so what is your problem?"

"I- I don't know…"

Haruhi was speaking truthfully. Really, she didn't know why, but even though Akito's words made her feel as though her body was being torn apart, something inside her provoked her to rebel, even if, in the end, it would be fruitless. The bonds of blood were too strong, but Haruhi would try to resist for as long as she could.

"You pathetic bird. You're a bird who's trying to grow wings and fly away- but you should know- I will not allow it. I'll never allow it! You can't go against me!"

Haruhi's soul buckled under these words, and she bowed her head. Akito, with another swish of her kimono, exited the room. Haruhi watched the shadow until it disappeared, and she heard something unusual.

The cat compound was in the room next door, she knew that. However, people didn't enter that room. Akito wouldn't allow it. However, today seemed to be different.

Haruhi sighed. Akito was in a really bad mood today if she was going to pick on the cat. People usually left the cat alone, and tried to forget it was there. Haruhi wasn't sure why no-one acknowledged the cat- it must have done something terrible.

The small cries lasted for at least an hour, before she heard the door close and Akito saunter away.

Several hours later, Haruhi became distinctly aware that it was dark outside. Another day in the Sohma compound, over and done with. Haruhi curled up on the floor, and waited for the next day, allowing her imagination to curb the boredom. She laughed internally in bitterness. She would never leave this room, if she carried on refusing to apologise. Still, she would rather stay true to herself than admit Akito had been right to hurt another person in front of her. Even though she had never spoken to Naoko properly, Haruhi did not want her to be harmed. It took everything she had to step in between Akito and Naoko.

Something made Haruhi sit bolt upright.

Tap, tap.

Someone was tapping lightly on the other side of her wall. It sounded tentative.

Tap, tap.

Again. Haruhi swallowed, and shook her head. It couldn't be… the cat girl? No. It had to be a maid or someone, knocking a broom against the wall. Actually, no, it was the middle of the night. Haruhi almost laughed at her own stupidity. The tapping continued, increasing in both frequency and intensity. Soon, the tapping turned into a desperate punch on the wall.

"Hello?" Haruhi said, feeling awkward. Her voice was husky. "Is someone there?" Could she be heard through the wall?

"Yes, I am!" a whisper sounded from the other side. "Who are you?"

Haruhi's mouth gaped open. Did the cat want to have a conversation with her? Why? Why now? What had changed? She pressed her hands and face up against the wall in order to hear better. This was an unexpected variation in her mechanical existence.

"I'm Haruhi… Sohma, of course. And you're the cat girl."

"I'm Sora, and I'm the cat. I'm not just the cat girl… I'm me."

Haruhi blinked, taken aback. "You really think that? But… I heard that you had been locked up since you were a baby. It's been fifteen years and… you still believe in yourself? Shut up! You're kidding me!"

"Nope! I just… After today, I couldn't take it anymore. She hasn't come into my room for a long time, so I think I grew soft from not being hurt. But today, when she hurt me, I realised that she does that sort of thing to the rest of you whenever she is upset, and I started feeling guilty that you had to bear all the pain.

I felt like I had to talk to you. I knew you were in there, I was just too scared, in case Akito heard me talking to someone. "

The voice was small, and sounded like a wind-chime, or a bell. Although it cringed at the mention of Akito, it was still soothing to listen to. It was kind, and welcoming, something Haruhi had never heard before. Innocence and purity.

"Anyway, I have been waiting it out all this time, thinking that one day I'll escape. Today I finally started thinking that I wouldn't escape here for a long time, so I thought I'd try talking to you, to pass the time."

"But- you must be so lonely!" Haruhi protested.

"Yeah, sometimes. I do try to imagine what the world is like outside though. You know, how the birds sing, and what colour the sky is. What good food there is, and the other animals. It's comforting," Sora sighed.

Haruhi smiled. She had seen a little of the world, at least, the world inside the grounds of the main house. She had wandered the pristine lawns, the rock gardens, and she had looked up and seen the sky. Well, she thought, I might as well tell her.

"It's amazing!" Haruhi said. "The sky- it's bright blue. Sometimes there's white fluffy clouds floating around in it, and sometimes it's completely clear. Birds like me fly through it every day, and they sing in the mornings and wake you up, and they all sing different tunes. Sometimes there's a breeze in the air, sometimes none, and sometimes there's gusts of wind that can knock you over. And that's just outside the door!"

"But… you've never been outside outside, have you? Have you ever gone outside the grounds of the main house?"

"…No, I haven't."

Haruhi went very quiet, and curled up into a ball again. Her moods fluctuated so much; now she felt like crying. The outside world was a distant dream, something that she desperately clung onto, even if it was as thin as a spider's thread. The thread of freedom hung right over her nose, and she held onto the possibility, but deep down, she never believed that she would be freed.

"Haruhi… are you okay? Sorry if I upset you."

"I'm fine!" Haruhi snapped, but immediately regretted it. Speaking like that to someone so nice seemed like a sin, almost. "It's just… You reminded me of getting out of here. And I really admire you for still being happy, and not giving up hope. You're completely different from what I imagined the cat to be like."

"Really? What did you think I'd be like?"

"Well, I hear the maids talking about it all the time. About how the rat boy is special, and how the idiotic cat who missed the banquet doesn't count for anything. They want to lock you up and forget about you, like you never happened. All the Zodiac is confined to the main house's grounds, but you are especially ostracised. So, after hearing all that, I assumed you'd be some disgusting creature who deserved what she got for being the cat. I didn't care what happened to you."

This time, it was Sora's turn to be quiet.

"Sora?"

"…Sorry."

"Sora, I don't think that now. In fact, I really like you! You're not the mean cat everyone's been talking about. You're just a normal person, with a strong spirit."

"Haruhi?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Thanks. You're nice, too. What animal are you?"

"I'm the bird. The bird who's trying to grow wings and fly away."

Haruhi smiled widely. After fifteen years of oppression, she had found a silver lining on the cloud of her anxieties- that the cat… was good.

"I wonder what the tiger is like? And the horse, and the rat and the dragon," Haruhi mused to herself.

Sora had opened a door, and allowed a small ray of comfort to eek its way into Haruhi's life. For the next few nights, they sat, and talked, their conversations growing more and more cheerful. They chatted about themselves, what they thought of their Zodiac animals (personally, Haruhi loved being the bird, and Sora loved cats), and they all but forgot about the ever-present danger of the discovery of their interaction.

A few mornings later, Haruhi opened one eye, and saw sunlight streaming in through the tiny window at the top of the wall. The sun's rays shone to the door at the other side of the room, past Haruhi, leaving her in the dark. Bleary-eyed, she sat upright and stretched her arms. Last night seemed like the inside of a dream. Another conversation with someone who didn't think she was scum… it felt good. Haruhi wondered whether Sora was awake yet. Probably not. They had been up, talking, for hours.

"It might not be so bad staying here, if Sora's in the room next door," Haruhi said to herself. "At least now I have someone to talk to. Things are starting to get interesting around here."

Haruhi swallowed. She saw her door slide open, and Akito step in.

"You've been talking to the cat," she said simply, but it sounded like she was restraining herself, trying not to shout.

Haruhi said nothing, instead fixing Akito with a blank stare, playing the innocent.

"I can't say how betrayed I feel. I was going to let you out today, in fact, however since you've been talking to the cat, I had to reconsider. I hope you realised that the cat is a revolting monster, a freak of nature that doesn't deserve to exist. I keep it locked up for a reason, so that it wouldn't interact with the others."

"But- the cat's-"

"The cat's what?"

"What did she do wrong? She seems… good."

"How foolish and naïve you are!"

"I'm not naïve!" Haruhi protested, although Akito was probably correct on that one.

"You… you don't consider my feelings, and you only push to get what you want, not what benefits us all on a larger scale. You are selfish. You might as well be the cat, the way you are behaving. The bird… the last bird was good! The last bird did what I told them to!"

Haruhi sighed. Akito was like a child, who knew only how to scream and fight, one that was vulnerable and cranky. Any other person could have restrained Akito in her rages, but the Zodiacs had to submit. Haruhi hated living with those bonds, and she hated how she couldn't put up that much resistance.

"The last bird is completely different to me!"

Akito simply breathed out heavily, and stormed out, slamming the door behind her. Haruhi let out a sigh of relief; at least Akito didn't hit her again. She traced along the network of scars and bruises on one arm with her fingers, and closed her eyes.

Later on that evening, Haruhi leant up close against the wall, anticipating another comforting conversation, which was like a drug to her. It fed her existence, gave it meaning and lifted her heart from darkness. She tapped on the wall four times, and closed her eyes, waiting for the response.

Nothing.

Haruhi narrowed her eyes. Maybe Sora was already asleep… No. Sora never missed out on their talks. She tapped again, harder, until she found that she was knocking with her entire fist.

"Sora?" she asked. "Sora, are you there? Answer me!"

No reply. She knocked again. And again. She knocked with both her fists in rapid succession.

"Damn it all! Why? Sora, answer me!"

Haruhi punched the wall with all her force in frustration. Why wasn't she answering? What had happened? Why was the world she built up crumbling away already?

"Don't go!"

Haruhi curled up in a ball again, and went to sleep, ignoring her tears.

For the next five days, there was no reply coming from Sora's room.

*ON THE SIXTH DAY*

Haruhi woke up, her face moulded back into the characteristic blank look she used to wear, and rubbed her eyes. She was expecting nothing different today, no changes. Akito's ideal world, one where everyone lived a static existence, continued.

She waited the day out in silence, rocking back and forth, focusing all her mental energy into remembering her conversations with Sora, which she treasured. The memories they shared were now her comfort, though they didn't even touch on the real thing. It was kind of like artificial comfort, false hope.

She felt starving. They hadn't bothered to feed her for three days. Perhaps Akito had forgotten about her. They did this sometimes, and as a result, Haruhi was rather thin.

It was late that night, that something unusual would happen, a change, that no-one anticipated.

Haruhi was twirling strands of limp hair round her fingers, and staring up at the small window above her, when a shadow appeared in the gap underneath her door. It was the shadow of someone's feet, only, they were wearing shoes. She squinted. There were… two people. One was stood to the side of the other, tapping one foot. A larger shadow consumed them both; it looked like one of them had crouched down.

This wasn't Akito.

Haruhi crawled towards the door with both curiosity and suspicion. She pressed her head up against it.

"Haruhi Sohma?" a voice said.

It was male, deep and sincere.

"Y-yes?" she replied, stunned.

"I am Kyo Sohma, and this man next to me is Yuki Sohma. We've come to get you out."


	3. Chapter 3 Meeting

Hi, everyone! Thank you so much for reading my story so far- I'm glad you like it Next chapter then. Haruhi's escape from the mansion! Where is Sora, you ask? Find out in this instalment of Wing of the next generation! (That sounded very advert-y, didn't it?) Enjoy, vote and comment! ****

**Chapter 3- Meeting**

Haruhi stopped breathing for a moment. "…Sohma? Out? What is this?" she demanded.

"Hurry, we haven't got much time before Akito finds us. I'm opening the door, so stand back."

The voice was clear and, to Haruhi, Kyo sounded so genuine. Kyo's voice almost invited confidence from her.  
>She nodded, even though no-one could see, and shuffled back away from the door, before it slid open. It didn't make much noise, the Haruhi's relief, and she was finally able to see the two men stood before her.<br>They were both, at a guess, in their late thirties, although very handsome, with no real signs of aging. Haruhi only guessed their age because of the age she could see in their eyes. Their eyes looked like they had seen far too much pain in their lives, and they were wise and weary. Kyo, the man who had spoken to her, was strikingly ginger, wearing a dark green kimono, and Yuki, who wore Chinese-style clothing had silvery-grey hair that hung over his face slightly.

"Who are you?" she hissed.

"We told you. No time for explanations, let's go."

Kyo grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet, while she struggled under his iron grip. Yuki sighed in exasperation. Haruhi hated being grabbed, and Kyo, not knowing of this, held onto her with continuing bemusement at her struggles.

"Get off me, dammit!" she said, trying to claw her way out of his grasp. "Please, just don't touch me!"

"Wow, she is just like you when you were young, Kyo," Yuki commented.

"Yeah, I suppose so. Now, we should get going. The others at still with Tohru, outside."

"The others?" Haruhi asked, not bothering to stop struggling. Someone touching her was almost like physical pain.

"The rest of the kids here."

Without further elaboration, Kyo grabbed both of Haruhi's wrists and held them behind her back in one hand of his, and escorted her out of the room.

The house was silent. Obviously no-one had discovered their presence or was in pursuit of them. Kyo was careful not to hold Haruhi too tightly, for understandable reasons, although it was incredibly tricky when she was squirming about under his grip.

"Can you calm down?" he asked.

"I would if you'd let go!" she retorted. Kyo dropped his arms, and laughed.

Haruhi sighed in relief. She bolted down the corridor as fast as she could (which wasn't very fast; physical weakness was a product of being confined for life), feeling her heart pounding. She felt like a spy or a detective, like the ones on the video games she played in her room. She mimed shooting her target whilst running, and looked dramatically from side-to-side.

"You can do that when you get outside, just come this way!" Yuki said, gesturing for her to come back.

Haruhi paused, disappointed, and shuffled back next to Yuki and Kyo, who began to walk briskly down the corridor in the correct direction. Haruhi followed, excited about this chance at freedom, but also, a portion of her was petrified. What if Akito woke up? She shivered at the thought. Kyo shifted into a run, and the other two followed suit.  
>As they were hurrying down the corridor, Haruhi felt a cool breeze on her skin, which grew stronger as they went forward. A draft? That meant they were close to the exit! Haruhi began to run a little faster- her legs felt like they would collapse beneath her, they were so weak- and her hair was swept back by the wind.<p>

"Who's there?"

Haruhi stumbled and skidded. She froze and stood motionless. Kyo slapped his forehead. Yuki narrowed his eyes.

"Is someone there?"

This wasn't Akito. This voice sounded not like the voice of God, but the voice of an ordinary person. A man, who sounded irritated.

"Hiro?" Yuki inquired. A man in his early thirties emerged from a room about a metre away from them. He was rubbing his eyes, and looked somewhat cranky.

"What the- it's Yuki!" Hiro hissed, astounded. "What the heck are you doing here? Why have you got that kid with you?"

"No time for questions, just forget you ever saw us!" Yuki replied. "Just go back to sleep, Hiro."

"I haven't seen you for over a decade, and this is how it happens? I can see you have a reason for this. I might not be able to hide this from Akito, however."

"Just try to do what you can. Please Hiro. We will come back for you one day, as well."

Hiro's face softened. "Tell Kisa I said hi, and tell her I love her. Please."

Yuki shook his head wordlessly, and patted Hiro on the shoulder. "You know I can't do that."

Haruhi swallowed. This older Zodiac member, Hiro… She could see the terrible, terrible pain in his eyes. Kisa must be someone he loved once. She wondered what happened.

"Let's go," Kyo reminded them, and they proceeded to run out the front door, and into the grounds.

The cool night air swirled around Haruhi, and her heart lifted as she caught sight of a huge wooden double gate. This part of the grounds, she had never seen before. Only the older members of the Zodiac, and Akito, were ever permitted to be this close to the outside world. It must have been worse for them, she thought, being that tantalisingly close to tasting freedom, but finding it unobtainable. But then again, their Zodiac spirits clung to Akito so strongly, that they would probably only have the courage to run as far as the next street.

"This is the main gate. Tohru and the other young Zodiacs are waiting outside for you, Haruhi," Yuki said, and he pushed open the gate.

"Who's Tohru?" Haruhi asked, but she was distracted by the sight in front of her.

There were several people stood in front of her. One, a woman, looked relieved. The rest of the company were teenagers, all of whom looked bewildered and exhausted. One of the three boys was standing close to the woman, observing everything around him, with a small look of fear on his childlike face, which was framed by a mop of straggly blonde hair. The other two boys were stood next to each other, one with dark grey hair and tightly folded arms, the other one facing him with a curiously transparent smile. The smiling boy wore metal-framed glasses which rested near the end of his nose. A girl, with faintly red hair in a bun and a face full of large freckles yawned restlessly. All were skinny and wearing the same traditional kimonos.

Haruhi stared, bemused, at the group of people, before her eyes fell on a thin girl with long ginger hair stood within arm's reach of her. The girl smiled as if she knew Haruhi, before something clicked inside Haruhi's mind.

"S-Sora?" she asked tentatively.

"Yep, it's me!" she grinned, and went over to take Haruhi's hand. "You know, you're exactly like I imagined you- tawny hair, the deep brown eyes, and you're really small, too."

"Are we free now?"

"Yep, we are. This is Tohru Honda, she's Kyo's wife, and Yuki here is their friend from a long time ago. They rescued me a few days ago- that's why I went missing. They rescued everyone else tonight- you were the last person they went back for. Sorry about all that, by the way."

"Do you ever shut up?" the boy with the folded arms, sighed.

"Haku!" the boy by his side reprimanded him, but he didn't sound serious. "That was harsh."

"She's annoying, Raiden. I, Haku, and Tsuneo both think so, don't we?" Haku protested, looking at the tall, anxious-looking boy. Tsuneo shrugged.

"We need to get going before someone shows up. Let's go to our house, Tohru. Thank you for your help, Yuki," Kyo said suddenly, having previously looked uncomfortable being around everyone at once.

"No problem. Just don't screw this one up, okay? Stupid cat."

Yuki flashed a knowing glance at Kyo, before departing down the dimly lit street, folding his arms and bowing his head in thought. Kyo laughed shortly. The Zodiacs, including Haruhi, glanced at each other in confusion.

"Stupid rat," he muttered, before turning to everyone. "I know you're all tired, but a little ways from here is a mini-bus, which we will drive to mine and Tohru's house. It's a bit far away, but I don't think Akito will find you easily there."

"Let's go then!" Tohru said cheerfully, although she looked tired as well. The girl with the tawny hair sighed restlessly. "What's wrong?"

"Walking! I don't walk!" the girl grumbled.

Tohru laughed. "It's not that far, now come on!"

***

The drive took hours, and it was almost daylight by the time they arrived at the strangest-looking place Haruhi had ever seen. It was not gated, and it had the same traditional look that the Sohma main estate had. It was a single-storey series of buildings, but it was all decorated in the most amazing pictures of dragons, tigers, and other animals, in gold and red.

"Welcome to our dojo!" Tohru smiled. "Our house is here too. Kyo is the Master here- isn't it great?"

The Zodiacs stood, dumbfounded. Haruhi swallowed, taking it all in.

"It's been a big night…" she said weakly. This world all around her was completely new. There were trees everywhere she could see, and she could feel that there were hundreds of birds in all of them, which comforted her a little.

Kyo caught her eye and smiled gently, before clearing his throat and putting his arm around Tohru. "Everyone, come inside. You can all rest in there. There's enough room for everyone."

"I never said I'd go inside!" Haku muttered, but Raiden put his hand on his shoulder, and shook his head. "What? I never said anything like that, I never agreed to anything."

"Haku, we need to rest. And besides, where else would we go?" Raiden said with raised eyebrows. Haku made a sound a bit like 'tsch…' and brushed off Raiden's hand. "If you're as smart as you think you are, you would zip it and come inside with everyone else."

"Fine, we're going in," Haku said with gritted teeth. He and Raiden began walking again together, bickering the whole way.

"Don't let that fool you," Sora smiled at Haruhi. "Those two became really close 'cause they were freed at the same time, after me and Tsuneo. They're the ultimate duo!"

Haruhi nodded, understanding this. She and Sora had become very close almost straight away. In a place like the main house, which was unchanging and monotonous, anything that provided freedom from this became something to latch onto, a first and only glimmer of hope. Still, that didn't change the fact that Haku seemed rude and dismissive, while Raiden was like tranquiliser to him- reasonable and level-headed.  
>Everyone trailed inside, still dazed. Tohru kindly laid out bed sheets for the six exhausted teenagers, who, without speaking, crawled underneath them and dropped off instantly.<p>

Haruhi dazedly opened one eye, to see the sunlight streaming in through the large window, directly onto her. Dust floated through the beam of light. It was already quite hot, and Haruhi became slightly surprised at the redness of her skin. Had she been sunburnt in her sleep? How strange.

"Oh, you're awake!"

Haruhi sat up, and saw Tohru crouched about a metre away, smiling at her. She was holding a damp towel, and leaning over Haku, who looked like he had a fever. He was breathing heavily, and his face was scrunched up in distress.

"He fell ill in the middle of the night, so I've been taking care of him!" she said cheerfully, and dabbed his forehead with the towel. He moaned and pushed it away. "Although, if he doesn't let me, I can't do much about that."

Haruhi just stared, not quite knowing why she didn't feel like saying anything.

"He gets ill easily, like Yuki did. Maybe it's a rat thing," Kyo said. Haruhi had been previously unaware of his presence, but he was stood in the doorway, another towel draped over his shoulders.

Haruhi blinked. "A what thing?"

"We have something pretty important to tell you. As well as what Tohru and I have decided for you all," he said, still fixing Haruhi with his eyes. He looked longingly at her, but she couldn't understand why. "We had better wait until everyone is awake, especially Naoko. She was really irritable when we woke her up at the main house."

"Whatever."

Haruhi looked at Haku, who looked like had calmed down a bit. So he was the rat. She had seen him a few times, passing by her at the main house, but never really acknowledged his existence. She still didn't get why Tohru, Kyo and Yuki kept mentioning the Zodiac animals like they knew what they were talking about, but that was probably going to be covered when everyone was gathered together later.  
>She dismissed this thought, and curled back up. She drifted back off to sleep, only not so easily this time.<p>

"Haruhi, wake up. It's time to get up, now," someone whispered, shaking her. Haruhi opened her eyes to see Sora looking down at her. Everyone around her was stood up, apart from Haku, who was sat on the floor, looking even more exhausted, because of his fever.

"Eh? Now?" she mumbled.

"Yep, you're the last one to get up. Come on, sleepy head!" Sora sang.

"WHAT?"

Haruhi leapt up, throwing the blanket off herself and looking thunderstruck. The last one up? How humiliating! She was originally the first one up, but went back to sleep. This was hardly fair.

"Dammit! I wanted to be the first!" she shouted. The covers were thrown off, and Haruhi scrambled to her feet, nearly knocking Sora over in the process.

"You just woke up, and you're already this annoying?" Haku groaned. He was still sat on the floor whilst everyone else was stood up. "What a loudmouth."

"Damn bird, always so hot-headed," Naoko said, but she didn't say it unkindly. "Haruhi, I wanted to say thank you for standing up to Akito, that time when we were summoned together to her room. You had to spend all that time in the isolated room because of me."

"Huh? Oh, that? It's fine, at least you didn't get hurt," Haruhi replied simply. "By the way, aren't we meant to be seeing Tohru and Kyo now?"

"You were the one we were waiting for! Now, come on!"

Naoko dragged Haruhi out, following everyone else to the room next door, a large room furnished with nothing except a small table with an ornate vase on top of it. Ten cushions lined both sides of the room, propped up neatly against the beige walls. Haruhi nodded. It was quite minimalistic, not the home of someone lavish and extravagant. Tohru and Kyo seemed like simple folk, though Haruhi had a thousand questions to ask them about them being Sohmas, knowing about the Zodiac, why they were freed, and the list went on.  
>Kyo and Tohru stood holding hands at the far end of the room.<p>

"Come in! Take a cushion and kneel down. Make yourselves comfortable!" Tohru said, with her usual joyful smile. Kyo looked at her and his face softened. Haruhi felt like she should avert her eyes or squirm away- was it possible to still be that in love at their age?

Five of the six teenagers edged in. Haku was the first to stride in and take a cushion, picking it up and placing it at the very front in the centre, completely fearless. Haruhi and Naoko glanced at each other, and, as if they had read each other's thoughts, went for the same cushion at the same time, and proceeded to wrestle each other over it. To Haruhi's utter devastation, Naoko won.

Once everyone had sat down, Kyo stepped forward. He cleared his throat.

"Haruhi the bird, Sora the cat, Haku the rat, Raiden the dragon, Tsuneo the horse and Naoko the tiger. You're probably wondering why Tohru and I came to Sohma house, and risked a lot to free you all," he began. "What I'm going to explain to you is probably going to be complicated and difficult to take in, but do your best.  
>As you know, I am Kyo Sohma. I used to be possessed by the cat spirit of the Chinese Zodiac."<p>

Sora gasped, and everyone else was visibly stunned.

"A long time ago, thirteen people from the Sohma family were cursed by the Zodiac, and it was the first time that all of the spirits had manifested together at once. The 'inside' family were overjoyed. We lived out our lives with our families in the grounds of the main house, but we only lived there. Most of us were allowed to go 'outside' and go to school, although having a completely normal life was very difficult. Many of our parents rejected us, and some lost the minds… or even their lives. Akito touched all of our lives, and physically and emotionally scarred many of us. She blinded the dragon in one eye, stabbed the bird in the back, and locked Yuki the rat up and mentally abused him. We grew up that way, that was what life was like, and we accepted that when we graduated from high school, we would be confined like you were."

Everyone sat enraptured by Kyo's story.

"Yuki, Shigure, who was the dog, and I were all living 'outside', by permission of Akito, when Tohru came into our lives. She at first was oblivious to the curse, but after an accident, she discovered it, and was allowed to live in our house with us with the knowledge of the curse. No-one thought anything of it- it was Akito's will. Things went less than smoothly, but slowly and surely, the members of our family became increasingly dependent on Tohru for the thing we had all been denied most in our lives: acceptance.  
>After a couple of years, by some miracle, Tohru had formed such a strong connection with all of us, even reaching out to Akito, that the curse of the Zodiac finally began to lift. We all graduated, and were able to tell the ones we cared about that we loved them. Everyone separated, and things started to become normal for all of us. Life was turning out how we wanted it to.<p>

However, something no-one expected happened. Shigure regressed back into his curse of the dog, and after that, several other members of our family, the ones you call the 'older' Zodiacs, all regressed as well. After that, all subsequent babies, including ours, were born with the curse. The curse returned, and no-one knew why. Things were in chaos.  
>Akito eventually summoned everyone, including their spouses and partners, to a reunion and meeting. It was there that you were all taken from your parents.<br>Everyone except the Zodiacs were forced to leave the house and never return. After that, you were all raised together in confinement in order to secure Akito's dream- an eternal banquet.  
>Akito ordered someone to erase the memories of all the people not in the Zodiac, including Tohru, Yuki, and myself. We only have our memories now because we managed to get out of there before they could catch up to us," Kyo paused for a breather. "We've been wanting to get you all back for a long time now, for years, but your parents' memories weren't buried very deeply. If we had removed you at a young age, and you happened to meet your parents, their memories would have come back, and there was a possibility of the exposure of the family curse. It's complicated, and we're sorry for not coming sooner, but that's the truth."<p>

Everyone sat in stunned silence. Kyo had stopped talking, and he took a step back, waiting for their reactions. Tohru's seemingly permanent smile had gone away, and she now looked just as staid as Kyo.  
>So this was the real reason. She had always wondered where the rest of the family went, why no-one ever came back for them, why the maids always believed they should be content with the current state of affairs, with Akito's will. The head family's warped idea of peace dominated her life, but now she understood the truth. She also understood why Tohru and Kyo knew so much about the curse.<p>

This was all falling into place.  
><span><strong><br>**


	4. Chapter 4 Home is where the family is

Thank you for reading my fanfiction, I am really grateful for every read I get, especially if you review it too, it's really encouraging

**Chapter 4- Life 'outside'**

"My parents abandoned me at birth? Didn't they put up a fight?" Haku asked in distress.

"You're the rat, aren't you? So your father must be… Haru. Yes, he did put up a fight. Your father and mother were both fighters, and you have inherited that from them," Kyo answered, and Haku seemed encouraged.

"The curse… I never really thought about breaking it… So Tohru actually broke the curse, but it came back?" Raiden said in thought. "These bonds really are bonds of blood. I guess you can't mess with that."

"Who were my parents?" queried Naoko. "I'm the tiger, by the way."

"The tiger? Your mother is called Machi… and your father is Yuki."

"What? Then I've already met my dad?" she cried, standing up. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Kyo gave a small laugh. "There's a time and place for everything, and that was not it," he said light-heartedly. "Right now, I have a martial arts class to lead, so Tohru is going to make you some breakfast, and show you around. You have a lot of learning to do about the outside world."

Tohru smiled at Kyo, who then left the room, and then smiled at everyone else in turn. In light of the conversation, the only person who returned the smile was Raiden. He beamed pleasantly at her, ignoring everyone else's dubious expressions towards him. Haruhi raised one eyebrow. What was with this guy? What was he thinking? She doubted already that not many people could tell that.

"Oh… Tohru?" Haruhi asked, having just thought of something.

"Yes, Haruhi?"

"Who are my parents?" Haruhi felt embarrassed asking, but it was the only way she would find out.

Tohru smiled wider. She walked over to Haruhi and tearfully looked her in the eye. Haruhi avoided her intense gaze, feeling awkward and confused.

"Haruhi, it's me and Kyo!" Tohru said happily.

"Huh?"

Sora gasped, and Raiden nodded as if he'd known all along. Haruhi bit her lip, stunned.

"You're my mother? And Kyo's my dad?" she said for clarification. "Seriously?"

Tohru nodded. "I wanted to tell you at the right time! Your dad and I are so pleased to have you back at last!"

Haruhi felt tears gathering in her eyes and spilling over, but she hastily wiped them away. Tohru and Kyo were amazing people, and now Haruhi felt overwhelming pride and gratitude towards them. These feelings were new to her, frightening, unknown territory. She really had parents, who escaped with their memories and never forgot her. She was never abandoned, always being thought of, being watched from a distance until the time was right. Someone had been out there, this whole time, who was thinking of her. Her parents, Tohru and Kyo… Tohru, content and selfless, and Kyo, who was sincere and mysterious, yet Haruhi could see an awkward kindness about him. They were her parents, and now she knew them.  
>Haruhi got up abruptly, and left the room.<p>

"Say," Haku said, "What's eating her?"

Haruhi was sat in the next room for some time before Tohru walked in, with Sora in tow. She was on the floor, hugging her knees with a tear-stained face. She looked up to see them both smiling at her.

"Sorry," Haruhi mumbled. "It's just…"

"I know," Tohru said softly. "Kyo was the same, a long time ago. He didn't like getting emotional in front of people, either. I think you inherited that from him."

"Shall we go for breakfast now? Tohru's going to teach us table manners!" Sora said, holding out her hand encouragingly.

Haruhi stared at Sora's hand for a second, before rubbing her eyes and switching on a smile. "Okay!" she said, and allowed Sora to help her up. She turned to Tohru. "Mum?"

"Yes?"

"You're so cool!"

***

While Tohru prepared the breakfast, everyone had been sat in another room, talking with each other (With the exception of Tsuneo, who sat cross-legged in the corner, silently). Haruhi enjoyed this conversation, with so many different people, but Tsuneo's presence seemed like a mere existence, like he was a ghost of a living person. His expression would have been more appropriate at a funeral.

At the breakfast table, everyone sat cross-legged, not knowing what to do or say. Tsuneo twiddled his thumbs nervously, staring at the meal in front of him, while Naoko looked desperate to eat, and was watching Tohru impatiently, waiting for her to say something that would allow her to start eating. Haruhi was completely lost in thought, indifferent towards the food in front of her.  
>A day ago, she was curled up in a ball, rocking back and forth in the hopelessness of the isolated room, listening for the familiar light 'tap' on her wall which validated her existence, which proved she wasn't alone there. And now, here she sat, about to eat, with people who had gone through the same things as she had, people to talk to, and learn about.<br>There was Sora, chatty and pure-hearted, and Naoko, who was friendly, competitive and amusingly rather irritable. The mysterious Raiden, with an impenetrable fortress of a mind, where no-one knew what was going on, and Haku, who held up a bitter and resentful façade over his underlying vulnerability. Tsuneo, timorous and soft, had not spoken a word since he got there, preferring to hide away from everyone, only wanting to watch them from afar.

"Now," Tohru began, holding her index finger up. "You all start at the same time, and no-one can leave until the last person is finished. Before eating, you put your hands together and say: 'Thank you for this food', okay? And then you can start! Did you understand that?"

"We may be slightly naïve, but we're not that dim," Raiden sniggered. Naoko laughed.

Everyone put their hands together very deliberately, unaccustomed to using any form of manners. Most had their eyes closed, while Haruhi kept her right eye open at a squint, noticing Tsuneo did the same.

"Thank you for this food," everyone chorused, and proceeded to pick up their chopsticks and devour the food, being desperately hungry.

Tohru watched them sunnily, politely chewing her own food. Haruhi had to admit, this was the best food she had ever tasted- not too fancy, perfectly done, and it was a kind of commemoration of a new beginning. At the main house, food was brought to her in her bedroom by a servant a couple of times a day, in between her playing video games and having chats with the birds on her windowsill. To sit like this, and eat with people who understood her, even a little, was a nice thing.

"Are you all done? Did it fill you up? You're not still hungry, are you?" Tohru asked.

"No thank you, we're fine," Sora said in her usual sweet tone, making Haku roll his eyes.

"Yeah, thanks mum," Haruhi said wryly, and then blushed. "Shut up!"

"We didn't say anything…" Raiden replied.

"You know what I mean!" she snapped, and stomped out of the room again, ignoring everyone's questioning glances at both each other and at her. Tohru watched her leave smiling, understanding exactly what was going on in her mind.

***

Several hours later, after a more successful lunchtime, Kyo returned to the house, dripping with sweat. The six Zodiacs stared at him, watching him walk into the room with fascination etched on their faces.

"What the hell were you doing?" Haruhi asked in awe.

"Nothing really, just leading a martial arts class. Didn't Tohru tell you I'm the master here?" he said, wiping his brow with a white towel.

"I see, and yeah, she did tell me. It's just…" Haruhi tried to hide her amusement, "It's just, I've never seen someone so sweaty, ha!" She started laughing, before going red and clearing her throat in embarrassment.

"You know, you can laugh if you want. Let everyone know what's on your mind; you could stand to let your emotions come through occasionally."

"Kyo?" Naoko asked suddenly.

"Yeah?" Kyo replied, just as puzzled as everyone else by Naoko's sudden initiation of a conversation with him.

"I was wondering… would it be okay if I went to live with my dad? If he agrees, of course, but… I think I should be with my family, you know," she said, sounding confident, as she normally did. "It's not that I wouldn't like to carry on living here, but Yuki is my dad, and I want to be with him. It's been fifteen years, and we have some catching up to do."

Kyo paused for a moment in thought. "… I think you should ask Yuki about that. After all, Machi has forgotten about you, so there may be some problems. But if that's what you want, I see no reason for you not to leave this place. Yuki and Machi are your mother and father. I'll go and phone them now, if you want."

Everyone turned to look at Naoko as Kyo left the room to Phone Yuki. Naoko looked relieved, as if a weight had been lifted off her chest; no doubt, she'd been contemplating asking this for a while now. Haku flashed a look at Raiden, who nodded. Haruhi frowned; it always unnerved her when Haku and Raiden did that thing where they looked like they were reading each other's thoughts, and communicating silently.

"What?" Naoko said irritably. "I had to ask."

"I know, but we didn't think you'd be in such a hurry to leave us," Raiden teased. "Are we that annoying?"

"Yes, but that wasn't the point. I just think that I should be with my family, that's all. You know, you don't have to stay here either. Tohru and Kyo have Haruhi now. Do they still need us here to inconvenience them? Really?"

"We're not inconveniencing them," a soft voice spoke.

Sora gasped inwardly. Haruhi raised her eyebrows. Tsuneo had actually spoken! Usually, he would be silent unless asked something directly, so this was a source of disbelief to everyone.

"Tohru and Kyo are the kind of people who are happy to help anyone, for any amount of time. I do not think we would be a burden on them by staying," he mumbled, trying to avoid everyone's awestruck gaze. "They wouldn't worry about that king of thing."

Haruhi nodded. "Yeah, they just aren't that sort."

She didn't get how Tsuneo's brain worked. With him, there was nothing wasted in word or deed; he spoke only when necessary, said only what was necessary, and acted discreetly, wanting to avoid any attention. He was fearful and timid, yet underneath, he was wiser than anyone else there. She hadn't really had that much of a chance to find out anything about him.

"You thought I was right?" he asked, a little surprised.

"Well, yeah, I- I did," Haruhi replied. Why did he always have to take things so literally, right to heart?  
>Haruhi had never really noticed before, but suddenly she realised that the rest of the Zodiacs were sat a distance away from Tsuneo, like he had a force field around him. She also noticed that he had the similar habit of hugging his knees to his chest. She had admit, she could see why people would want to keep their distance. Though he watched from afar, whenever someone went near him, he would give them a cold stare and back away. Haruhi nearly laughed at herself. How perceptive she was being.<p>

"That's interesting. It doesn't often happen that way," he commented.

"Would you stop doing that? It's a little odd," she said, not wanting to offend him, but frustrated by his direct, open and observational way of speaking. Maybe he was better silent!

"Would I stop doing that? I do not know what you mean, but whatever it is, I am sorry."

Haruhi immediately regretted reprimanding Tsuneo.

***

A while later, Tohru popped her head through the door, holding a tray of drinks, followed closely by Kyo. She set the tray down on the table, and everyone crowded round it as if the drinks would disappear if they didn't grab one immediately. Their insecurities would take a long time to heal.

"Yuki has explained everything to Machi, and though her memories of you are gone, she understands the situation," Kyo began, when everyone had calmed down and was sat down.

"And? What did they say?" Naoko pressed.

"They'd be delighted if you came to live with them. Yuki also says they'll take responsibility for anyone else who wants to go with you. We did decide that it would be easier to divide the responsibility between us."

Haruhi's heart constricted. "What? But how are you going to decide who's going?"

"Tohru and I want you to stay, Haruhi. You don't need to get so anxious. We're your parents, we're not about to abandon you again," he said.

"I'm going, obviously," Naoko nodded. "Not that I don't like it here."

"Haku and I will go. That means that Haruhi, Sora and Tsuneo are all staying. Three and three- that will do, won't it?" Raiden suggested.

"Are you sure about this?" Kyo said.

"We're sure. Thank you so much for your hospitality, but we feel our place is elsewhere," he replied pleasantly.

"Does Haku agree to this?"

"I do. This place was the first place I came to after you got me out of the main house; it'll just keep memories of the main house fresh in my mind. I'd rather just start again somewhere else," Haku said. "And besides, Raiden and I are a team."

"Then it's settled!" Naoko grinned. "Raiden, Haku and I will go and live with Yuki and Machi, while Sora, Haruhi and Tsuneo will stay here. Perfect!"

"It's not perfect!" Haruhi shouted, leaping up. "We just got here, and you already want to leave?" She brushed the patchy network of bruises on her arm. "The main house was hell. We all went through the same stuff, and we all got out together. Together, all of us are like a team; it's not just Haku and Raiden- we're all part of one thing, the Zodiac. Why should we be split up? It's completely unfair!"

"Haruhi…" Naoko said. "Haruhi, I need to go and live with my parents!"

"I know, I know I'm being unreasonable and childish… but I just- everything's changing again!" Haruhi blush in embarrassment as she felt tears welling in her eyes.

Naoko got up, followed by Raiden and Haku. "Sorry, Haruhi. We're still going to see each other in the future. It's not like we're going away to die. And besides, you've still got those two with you. We won't be far away, promise."

"If we're spread out over two households, it will be harder for Akito to find us, if she should ever come looking. Take that into account as well," Raiden reminded Haruhi, who had calmed down and was biting her lip.

Kyo cleared his throat. "Yuki says he'll be ready any time, so I can take you all there now, if you want."

The three of them nodded, and followed Kyo out of the room, not looking behind themselves. Haruhi watched them go, still dwelling on the personal humiliation of her emotional outburst. It had just gotten too much; never had she imagined that, right after they all escaped, anyone would want to leave. It was like she was afraid of being alone, or abandoned, as if her entire being was shying away from the loneliness of life in the main house. She wanted to surround herself with people, to never be on her own. It was a strange feeling, and it scared her. She sat down, feeling drained and put out.  
>Sora came and sat down next to Haruhi, her usual soft smile making Haruhi's world light up, just a little bit. Tsuneo, who had, up until this point, been staring at the floor, raised his head.<p>

"It's simply us three now," he said distantly, not looking at them.

Haruhi cracked a smile. She had been unaware that Tsuneo spoke in such a posh manner. She had been distracted by other things.

"But, this is a climate I enjoy," Sora commented.

"Hm? Why?" Haruhi asked.

"Well, I can tell that the atmosphere here is good. It isn't stifling, there are no restrictions, and there's lots to learn about the world that we never got to see. I never saw the sky until I got freed, and this is awesome! But Tsuneo, when you were outside, you looked so scared!"

He bit his lip. "Yes, well I was quite scared then. After all, it's new, and it was a momentous night, too. All challenges are scary at first, but maybe I can learn one day to face up to them, instead of stopping, shutting down and hoping for the best."

"Okay, now he's getting too thoughtful!" Sora laughed.

"Am I?" he said anxiously. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No. It's a unique thing. You don't speak much, but when you do, you say something of real importance. I think that's as good a trait as any, and one worth keeping," Sora said.

Haruhi smiled. Naoko, Raiden and Haku had all left, but they would be with them in spirit, no matter where they went. As usual, her emotions had fluctuated from calm, to furious, to upset, and now she was feeling fine. Maybe it was the presence of two people who understood her. There was Sora, so lovely and kind, and Tsuneo, who she felt that she was beginning to understand more and more about every time he spoke. Because of a single sentence, Tsuneo could make someone at peace within themselves, without him even realising it. He was a mysterious person.

"Well, I guess this is it," she said.

"What is it?"

"It's time we got used to life outside. This is only our first day. We've got the rest of our lives ahead! Yeah- I'm excited just thinking about it. Think of all the ninja games I could play out in _those _woods."

Sora laughed. "We can go exploring later, then."

Haruhi felt a well of emotion rise up inside her, so she stood up abruptly, and strode out of the room. Just outside the door, she began to laugh. 


	5. Chapter 5 Bewildering day

**Hi! Thanks for reading my story, and I hope you enjoy the next chapter! Read/comment please!**

Chapter five-Bewildering day for the social rookies

The next few days passed with nothing happing of consequence. Haruhi, Sora and Tsuneo had all been tutored about everyday living by Tohru, who was delighted to be of help. She offered comfort when Tsuneo was caught unawares by a deer wandering about in the woods; he had taken one look at the creature and bolted home, completely out of breath by the time he was through the door, and Tohru had not laughed at him. Instead, she wordlessly took his hand, and took him through to the room where everyone else was sat eating lunch. They all understood; their childish tendencies (Haruhi's tantrums and dislike of being alone, and Tsuneo's shyness) were all just a result of being so sheltered all these years.

One day, at the dinner table, Tohru had something to say.

"Excuse me," she began hesitantly. Kyo gave an exasperated sigh, and cleared his throat loudly. Haruhi and Sora stopped chatting and immediately fell silent. Tohru smiled, amused by Kyo's reaction. "Sorry for interrupting you all while you were talking, but Kyo and I decided something earlier, and we think you should know now."

"Again with the deciding stuff behind our backs," Haruhi commented irritably.

"We want you all to take the entrance exam for high school," Kyo said, getting straight to the point.

Tsuneo gulped. Sora blinked blankly and Haruhi was reduced to stuttering incoherently for several moments. Entrance exam? High school? She had heard these things in passing at the main house, but had never actually thought about it. High school… from what she heard, it was a huge building full of other people her age, boys and girls. They would all sit in a room and be talked at by a teacher for hours, and have to wear a uniform. It all sounded restricting to her.

"Exam? But we don't know anything," Haruhi protested.

"That's true. We only know the things the servants taught us. We have never been to school," Sora said uncertainly. "Things might be a bit difficult, as well, with the curse."

"I went to high school with girls. It was never a problem," Kyo said, nodding. He smiled slightly, and looked a little distant, like he was remembering a good time. "They were the most eventful three years of my life."

"At the very least, we'd like you to try!" Tohru said encouragingly. "The entrance exam is tomorrow, so look sharp!"

"Look what?" Tsuneo asked in his deep voice, looking puzzled. "How do we do that?"

"Oh Tsuneo, you are a dummy!" Sora joked lightly. "She meant that we had best behave well, and do our best!"

"Whatever, we'll think about it," Haruhi said. "Come on, let's go play ninja outside, guys."

"Still playing ninja?" Kyo teased. "I guess you missed out on seeing the real world. It's probably why you're still quite naïve and childish."

Tsuneo shrugged, and got up, followed by Sora, who smiled at Tohru and Kyo before running out to play. Haruhi had never even considered it strange to like playing ninja at her age. But then again, she had never really met anyone else.

The school building looked foreboding. The enormous grey building stood tall in the glaring sun and created a large shadow that enveloped the five people stood in front of it. Haruhi tried to 'look sharp', standing with her fists clenched. Tsuneo was visibly terrified, and Sora looked strangely subdued. Tsuneo had tears in his eyes, which made Haruhi almost giggle. He was such a cry-baby sometimes, but in a cute sort of way.

"This is a school? How wild," she muttered.

"In retrospect, I shouldn't have agreed to come here," Tsuneo muttered. "I wonder how many people are in there?"

"Let's go in!" Tohru chirped, and lead them all down the wide path lined with trees into a comparatively dingy reception.

The middle-aged receptionist , who wore oversized spectacles and a light grey suit, raised her head, and looked mildly shocked at the sight in front of her. Haruhi watched her face, puzzled. What was so strange? Kyo went right up to the front desk where the receptionist was sat, and placed his hand on the top of the desk.

"Kyo and Tohru Sohma, here to enrol these three in this school. We have an appointment, for a private entrance exam, since they missed out on the public one," he said smoothly.

"Are you sure you didn't mean to take them to be recruited at a modelling agency?" she said weakly.

"Huh?"

"Those are the best-looking three kids I've ever seen! What do you _feed _them?"

"Really? I never noticed. And noodles or rice, usually. Now, where is the headmaster? He was supposed to meet us here."

Haruhi had to hand it to him; he was handling this over-excitable, odd receptionist well. If they weren't so fearful about the prospect of school, Sora and Haruhi might have laughed. Tsuneo looked like he would pass out.

"Hello there! Good to meet you all."

Haruhi heard the voice first, coming from the hallway nearby. Then, she saw a tall, robust man in his fifties, at a guess, walking swiftly towards them. He wore a black suit with an un-tucked shirt. The man looked a little too jolly to Haruhi, who instinctively backed away when he approached her. Not the he noticed, of course.

"Now, I take it this is Sora, Tsuneo and Haruhi Sohma?" he queried, eyeing the three teenagers in front of him.  
>Even he had to concede- they all looked like they'd stumbled out of a photo shoot, the way they all looked. The Sohma family seemed to be the family of good looks, with the exception of the woman stood smiling cheerfully at him, who looked pretty, but profoundly normal. The teenagers looked small and skinny for their ages, which were meant to be fifteen and seventeen, and their bodies were curiously dotted with little sores and bruises. It was their general features that were beautiful. On girl was small than the other, with long ginger hair fought into a ponytail, and oddly coloured eyes that were strangely endearing. The other girl had peculiarly tawny hair with dark brown flecks in, that hung down to her shoulders and framed her face. Her eyes were a deep brown. The blonde boy stood in front of him, and he had light chocolate-coloured eyes that stared at him, as if he were watching for something. He blinked. How odd that a lad of his age was so nervous.<p>

"I'm Haruhi."

"I'm Sora."

"Tsuneo."

Tsuneo stood motionless, while Sora shrunk towards Haruhi automatically. Tohru stood behind them and put her hands on Sora and Tsuneo's shoulders comfortingly. Alarmed, Tsuneo pulled away.

"Do you want to come on into the office then? You'll take your exams in there. I trust you'll do brilliantly," the headmaster said grandly. "Come along now!"

Tohru and Kyo exchanged glances. "Let's go, now," Kyo said. "We'll be in the car."

"What?" Sora said. "Wait a minute!"

"We can't go in with you. Sorry, but you're on your own from on out. You'll be fine," he replied, talking to Haruhi in particular. He smiled gently at her, before putting his arm around Tohru and leading her out of the reception. The three Zodiacs stared at their backs, flabbergasted.

After two hours of examination, Haruhi, Sora and Tsuneo left the office, only too glad to be out of there. The headmaster followed suit, still creating a grandiose impression of massiveness. Tsuneo, to Haruhi's interest, looked calmer than usual, despite what they had just come out of.

"How did you find that?" Sora asked them, later that day, back at home.

Tsuneo took a sip out of his drink. He was sat at the other side of the room. Haruhi hugged her knees close to her chest and was seated close to Sora, who waited hopefully for an answer.

"It was okay. Not too easy, not too hard. It looks like the servants actually taught us well," Haruhi said, and laughed. Sora groaned. "What?"

"It was so hard for me! I felt like I didn't know anything. Now I'm going to fail, and you two will get in!" she exclaimed, disappointed. Then, she remembered Tsuneo. "Um Tsuneo, how do you think you did?"

He thought for a moment. Not wanting to have too much attention, he spoke to the wall instead of the girls near him. "I found it fairly easy," he murmured. He looked up, and saw that Haruhi and Sora were waiting for him to elaborate on his sentence. "At the main house, I read a lot of books."

"And you remembered it all?" Haruhi said, impressed.

"Yes. It seems like it."

"All this time, and we never knew you had this hidden intelligence, ha! Well, what do you know?"

"What?"

"It's an expression, Tsuneo. I think out of our group, you may have the most intelligence, but definitely not the most social skills!"

He closed his eyes and cracked a small smile, astounding Haruhi. It was slight, and tentative, but it was genuine. She felt warm inside; Tsuneo had learned how to smile.  
>But at the moment, when Tsuneo realised what he was doing, he switched it off, and resumed his characteristic blank expression.<br>The phone began ringing, making Haruhi jump. She dragged herself off her bottom. Whoever it was, she wanted to staple something to their face for making her get up when she was so comfortable.

"Hello?" she asked, pressing the receiver to her ear. Phone calls still freaked her out a little.  
>"Why hello, would that be Haruhi Sohma? I am the Head master of the high school!" came a garish voice from down the line. She had to hold the receiver away from her ear. "I was going to talk to your father, however since you're here, I might as well say it now!"<p>

"Say what?" she replied weakly.

"Well, Haruhi, on the test, you scored a well-rounded 83 out of 100, putting at just above average. I am most pleased with that, and would be happy to allow you into this school."

"Really? Uh, awesome," she said, not sure how to react.

"Sora scored 65, putting her at below average, but since she is such a lovely girl, she gets in, too. Just remind her to study some more!" he boomed down the phone. Haruhi thought it was a little weird to tell _her _her relatives' test scores, but then again, he was a weird guy.  
>"And finally, your Tsuneo… Well, we were astonished! He scored 99 out of 100!"<p>

"99?" Haruhi's mouth gaped open into the shape of an 'o', and she nearly dropped the phone. "What question did he get wrong?"

"It was a picture of a triangle, and there were two labelled angles. The third angle was labelled 'X', and the question was: 'Find X'. Now, I ask you, is it really that difficult?"

"What did he put?"

"He drew an arrow pointing to the letter, entitled: It is here… I would expect an answer like that from someone a little more charismatic, but not from someone like him. He just lost his chance at getting the highest score possible!"

Haruhi slammed the receiver down and ran past the room where Sora and Tsuneo were, into another one, and slid the door behind her. Unable to hold it in any longer, she erupted into fits of uncontrollable giggles. "Tsuneo, you idiot!" she choked. He really was clueless, when it came to things like that. Taking things literally seemed to be his weakness. "You've got to love him!"

"Haruhi?"

She heard Kyo's voice from the other side of the door. He slid it open, and wandered in to find Haruhi on the verge of tears from laughter.

"Something happen?" he queried, sitting down next to her.

"It's nothing. Just to let you know, we all got into the high school. The head teacher guy just phoned," she said, trying to calm herself down. Why did things have to provoke such a strong reaction in her?

"Oh, well done," he said, sounding genuinely pleased. He paused for a moment. "I'm proud of you, Haruhi. You're getting along so well here, and now you're going to high school. I just can't believe I missed out on so much of your life, leaving you in that place… Sorry, I'm getting too distant. Adults do that sometimes."

Haruhi's face straightened out. She sensed that the mood had changed. She still felt a little awkward around Kyo, like there was a gap yet to be bridged between them. Tohru was an easy person to love, but with Kyo, things were more abstract, more intense. There were many pent-up feelings she had towards her father that she had to let out. Now. She had to give her thoughts form.

Kyo, sensing this, sat closer to her. "It may have been a long time, but you're still my daughter," he spoke with conviction.

"I…" She really didn't know what to say. She avoided Kyo's stare.

"I missed out on quite a lot of your life, so I have to get in fifteen years worth of being a father."

"Stop it…" she murmured.

"Stop what?

"Acting like you care about me!" She was giving her words form, letting out her emotions, just as he told her to. "It's just… It's just that, my whole life, I thought that you had abandoned me and left me with Akito! It was horrible. All these scars on my body don't mean nothing to me, you know! They're the signs of your abandonment! There were times I wished you dead, when I wished you had never had me in the first place. Now I'm here, and I don't know what to think any more!"

"Haruhi," he said, looking pained. He reached out and took hold of her wrist. She instinctively jerked away, panicking.

"Don't," she said in a low voice, slapping him away. His face held no expression now, and he tried again. He wouldn't give up. He would bridge the gap. He took hold of her again. This time, she gasped and curled up in a tight ball.  
>"Don't touch me! Please, don't touch me!" she said in a muffled voice.<p>

"Why not?" he asked calmly. He had suspected something like this was affecting her, and maybe Tsuneo.

"Just don't come near me. It makes me remember things… Things I don't want to remember!"

"Has Akito hurt you?"

"All of us! I think it's worse this time around than it was for you. One day, she would sit next to us and touch our faces, and the next she would lock us up, and she came in, just to shout and hit us. It was good, but bad, it was so confusing!"

"Haruhi…" he muttered, understanding. He reached out, one more time.

"Get off!" she shouted, throwing herself forward.

Unfortunately, she fell on top of Kyo. Both of them looked stunned for a second, before a familiar 'poof' sounded, and Haruhi disappeared underneath her clothing.

"Oh, man…" Kyo groaned. He dug underneath her clothes until he found a shell-shocked sparrow, who gave a weak 'tweet' before collapsing in his hand. "Don't let this start happening again! Oh hell, what do I do? Tohru!"

***  
>When Haruhi woke up, it was dark. She sat bolt upright underneath a thin sheet, and became acutely aware that she was only wearing Tohru's dressing gown.<p>

"Of course… I transformed, didn't I?" she murmured. She felt utterly drained. As the memories came flooding back to her, she remembered something humiliating. She had had a brief, yet eventful fight with Kyo. Feeling very guilty, she slipped out of the sheets, picked up the nightie that was folded neatly on the floor beside her, and put it on. She sighed. It had all happened very quickly. Self-confessedly having a short fuse, Haruhi suddenly wished she wasn't so unsecure. Perhaps if she had let her father hold her hand, they wouldn't have fought. Although, she did have to commend him for trying to reach out to her. He wouldn't give up. That was one trait about him she admired.

"Haruhi?"

The door slid open, to reveal Tsuneo, standing there in his bed clothes. He walked in, looking concerned.

"Haruhi, are you okay? I heard you and Kyo had a fight."

"You're getting more confident every day," she commented, trying to steer the conversation away from that particular avenue. "You don't usually start conversations."

"Are you okay?" he repeated, unrelenting.

"I guess so. I just hate my damned personality. If I wasn't so touchy, it never would have happened. Now my dad hates me."

His face softened. "I'm sure he doesn't hate you. If he hated you, why would he try so hard to connect with you? He understands exactly what you are experiencing, exactly what we're all experiencing. Don't forget, he was that cat. He was treated terribly by Akito as well, and look how far he's come along. He has been healed by Tohru."

"He has been healed?"

"Yes. One day, you'll find someone who can heal you." Suddenly, his face looked desolate. It wasn't fearful, anxious, soft or confused, like it normally was. He looked… sad.

"What's up with you?" she questioned, sitting closer to him. It was about time she tried to get through to him.

"Nothing, really. I was simply thinking of some things… remembering things I haven't thought about for a long time. Uncomfortable things. Sitting up late and brooding over things isn't good for the soul."

"Hell, maybe you needed to!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, I don't know about that," he said pleasantly, fixing his expression into the same soft smile that he had given her earlier.

"Yeah, my dad said that sometimes, we can stand to let our emotions out occasionally. If you keep things bottled up and don't think about them, it's gonna get too intense, and come out at once, like it did for me," she said ruefully.  
>"Look who's teaching who now!" he commented lightly. She smiled. He never usually displayed any form of humour.<p>

"By the way, Tsuneo."

"Hm?"

"Why do read all the time? I noticed. Whenever we're not playing ninja or eating, you're always reading a book, or sat a corner, looking at a wall…" she felt a bit stupid saying it now, but she felt like she had to know.

"I want to know things," he said, nodding.

"Oh? What kind of things?"

"Everything. Before now, all we knew was Akito. I found books to read at main house, but now I am out, there's thousands and thousands of books to read, so much to know, and I want to learn it all. The staring at the wall… well, that is… You don't really need to know about that."

"I've never heard you so passionate about something," she joked, cheered up. "But you couldn't explain the rest, could you?"

"No."

"It's like you're trying to avoid talking about stuff like that. I guess the main house isn't out of your system yet. That place broke our hearts."

He cleared his throat. "By the way, I did hear about something that can fix a broken hear t, like yours or mine."

"Oh, what's that?" she asked, feeling his intense watch on her.

He took hold of her hands in his own, and squeezed them gently. This time, she didn't back away. His touch was easy and undemanding.  
>Without thinking, she bent closer, until she was leaning into his chest, with his arms wrapped around her.<p>

"It's called a hug," he whispered into her hair. "Apparently, it's quite soothing."

"You're right," she agreed, and closed her eyes.

OOOO

Oh, I loved typing that moment. Made me feel all warm and fuzzy :L


	6. Chapter 6 Crowds

Well, here's my next chapter! Two new characters, and I love them so I'm hoping you will too. Enjoy

Chapter six- Crowds

Neither of them had said anything for a while. Tsuneo had simply brushed his hand lightly against her burning cheek, before departing the room, leaving her to fall into an uneasy sleep. She felt like punching something. What did this all mean? Never had she felt anything like this before. Tsuneo had become a different person with her, not his usual blank-faced or fearful black and white persona, but a hazy grey, a more human side to him that no-one had seen.  
>Tsuneo had wandered back into his room, and sat in his bed, thinking. Had he done the right thing? He had acted on his instincts, which were usually good, but this felt different. In the book he read, a hug was meant to comfort someone when they were upset or afraid, and it was meant to cheer them up. He hadn't predicted that he would end up feeling such warmth inside him, when he saw her expression smooth out, eased. Seeing her genuinely happy for that small moment had gotten him seriously considering himself.<p>

The next morning, they all sat at the breakfast table, eating in silence. Sora and Tohru looked completely at ease, smiling at each other, eating politely. Only they were oblivious to the events of the night before. Kyo, Tsuneo and Haruhi sat in a row of three, not looking at each other, each feeling as awkward as the others. It didn't help that this was their first day at school, either. Haruhi actually felt a little sick. The thought of going into a building filled with all those crowds made her furious. She glanced over at Tsuneo, who looked devoid of feeling, staring blank-faced into his bowl of cereal. He would be entering his third year, and things would be especially tough on him. He even looked a little tearful, although this was nothing new. He was always quick to cry.

"It's nearly time for you to go!" Tohru chirped suddenly, making the three of them jump. "Are you okay, Kyo?"

He cleared his throat, and glanced at Haruhi. "I'm fine. Anyway, let's go out to the car."

Since Tohru and Kyo lived in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, the only way for them to get to the school every day was for Kyo to give them a lift in the car. Although grateful for the lift, Haruhi couldn't help but feel that there it was going to be an uncomfortably silent journey.

"You all look so good in your uniforms!" Tohru commented, seeing the three of them stood next to the car.  
>Tsuneo tugged at his tie, and scratched his neck underneath the stiff collar of his shirt. He then put his hand up to feel the strange softness of his newly washed hair, combed into place by Tohru. Haruhi flashed a look of amusement over at him, before sighing at her own uncomfortable attire. This sailor's outfit that girls had to wear looked very odd compared the boys' cool military-style uniforms. Plus, she couldn't help but feel that the skirts were made a little too short. Sora was breathing very deliberately, calming her own nerves.<p>

"Good luck everyone!"

The crawled into the car, feeling that they definitely needed that luck if they were to survive their first day in high school.

***

As Tsuneo prepared to depart for his first class in the third year block, he looked like he was trying to hide his anxiety. He reassured the girls that he didn't need walking to class.

"I will be fine," he said, although he sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than the other two. He faced away from them, seeming cold. "Do not worry, I won't bump into anyone and transform, and classes should be easy if the questions are like they were in the entrance exam."

"Yeah, but classes don't just involve being questioned by a teach for hours. I read that in a book Tohru got me," Sora warned him.

"I said I'll be fine," he said firmly, and strode off, adjusting his tie as he went.

Haruhi frowned. It was like, every time someone tried to get a little closer to him, that was the moment when he would inevitably pull away. There were places in his head that were forbidden territory for other people. She felt a little glad that she had seen just a moment of the more genuine side of him.  
>After they parted, Haruhi and Sora went to the first year block, as per on the map, and paused for a moment outside the classroom. They could hear bustling movement inside, and the shadows of the pupils shifting about. Haruhi gulped, and knocked twice on the door.<p>

"Come in!"

Sora backed away, and Haruhi took that as a suspiciously kind invitation for her to go in first. She took a deep breath, and opened the door to enter the classroom full of people.  
>It was completely different to what she expected. Pupils were sat casually, either on top of the desks, at their desks, on the window sill, or simply standing in small groups chatting amongst each other. The teacher was sat at her desk, typing something in on a computer. She was fairly young, and looked like a very relaxed person, which explained the steady stream of chatter coming from the pupils, who all looked at ease. She had been imagining something more subdued, or strict. Maybe school wouldn't be too bad. She corrected herself. Maybe it wouldn't be completely awful.<p>

"You must be Haruhi and Sora Sohma," the teacher said. She sounded kind. "Go and sit down in whatever space you can find. I'll get you your books. Everyone!" She addressed the class. "Treat our new pupils with kindness and respect. They've never been to school before, so please take that into account."

Haruhi nodded wordlessly, and went to sit down, Sora shadowing her. They both sat on a double desk at the back of the room, trying to avoid all the intrigued gazes of the pupils.

"Are you the princesses of a distant land?" a boy hissed at them. He had a sincere, child-like voice. He was mess, as well. His hair desperately needed combing and his tie was askew.

"What? Hell, no!" Haruhi replied. "Why would you say that?"

"How could you have never been to school before? Were you home educated? By the way, you talk like a dude."

"What's a dude?"

The teacher cleared her throat, and everyone stopped their stream of conversation to listen. Haruhi soon forgot about the curious boy.

"First lesson, maths!"

Haruhi looked confusedly from person to person as the class let out a groan. Why was maths so terrible? It was the subject she had found the easiest in the entrance exam. She glanced over at Sora who looked desperate. Of course, she hadn't done too well in the test. Haruhi decided to help her, if she could. She looked to her side, and saw… No, it couldn't be.

Naoko was a desk across, her head resting in her folded arms on the desk, yawning lazily over the open textbook. Haruhi's heart lifted. She couldn't believe it- Naoko, here! It would be like a reunion.

"Naoko- Naoko, it's us!" Haruhi whispered. What was she doing here? Wasn't Yuki's house quite far away? The nearest school to that house would be an all girls' school, or the all boys' academy for Raiden and Haku.

"Huh?" she muttered. She raised her head and looked round. "Wha- Haruhi and Sora? Well, hello!"

"Excuse me, girls!" the teacher said sharply.

"But, sensei!" Haruhi protested.

"'But' nothing. Stop talking, please."

"Dammit."

They'd talk at break time.

***

At last, after two hours, it was break time.

"So, what made you want to come here instead of the girls' school?" Sora questioned, pleasantly surprised and elated.

"Just didn't want to spend my life running away from my problems, you know. I want to at least _act _like a normal person," Naoko replied. Haruhi noticed with amusement that Naoko hadn't tied her shoelaces.

"It's awesome to have you here!" Haruhi said. She loved being surrounded by her Zodiac family.

"Let's just get out of this classroom and into the corridor. You've got to get Tsuneo, right?"

"Oh yeah! I wonder how he did."

They really didn't know what to do, other than to dodge the unrelenting stream of students bustling through the corridors who were eager to make the most of their free time. They waited outside Tsuneo's classroom for a very long time, wondering what on Earth could be taking him so long.  
>Haruhi pushed the door open a crack to see what was going on.<p>

Tsuneo was stood in front of his teacher, his head bowed, but he was still as tall as they were. He was wringing his hands and nodding hurriedly to his male teacher.

"Did you think it was a smart comment? Clever?" the teacher asked him, exasperated.

"No, Sensei, I swear," he said truthfully, in a tiny voice.

"What's going on?" Sora whispered. "Did he get a question wrong or something?"

"No, that's not it… Let me listen. Shhh," Haruhi muttered back, and leant in closer.

"I just thought—"

"Thought what?"

He hesitated. "The grammar was incorrect. I thought you might have wanted to know."

"You were rude and insolent. You stood up, spoke out of turn, and disagreed with your teacher. Now, I understand that a school environment is challenging for you, and your foster parents informed me about your current situation, but that isn't an excuse for being rude."

Haruhi gasped. Tsuneo was in real trouble. If she knew him, he had thought he was being helpful, as he always was.

"I wasn't aware that… it was rude to…"

Haruhi couldn't bear it any longer. She burst into the classroom. Sora gasped, and Naoko sighed in exasperation.

"What is this?" the teacher demanded.

"Stop telling Tsuneo off!" she yelled angrily. "It wasn't his fault. You just don't know him like we do. He thought he was being kind- he didn't mean to be rude to you! Understand that!"

"He should learn when to keep his mouth shut. I take it you're Haruhi Sohma?"

"I am."

"I'll be letting your teacher know about this interruption. Regardless of what it is about, you should never speak to a teacher in the manner you have."

"But that is not fair! What about Tsuneo? He's done nothing wrong!"

"I don't think so."

Tsuneo swallowed, and held out his hand for the teacher, who looked puzzled as to why he had done that.

"Do it if you want…" he said.

"Do what?" The teacher blinked, and then he saw the partially healed red marks on Tsuneo's hands. "I don't know what experiences you've had in the past, but we certainly don't use corporal punishment here! Just go, and don't let me hear you being rude again, young man!"

Tsuneo hurried to Haruhi's side. He held the door out for her, and they left the classroom.

"In trouble on your first day?" Haruhi sighed. "Wow, way to go, Tsuneo."

"I really did not mean to cause such trouble. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say, though," he admitted.

Haruhi made an irritated noise. "Don't think like that! If I were you, I'd have wiped that stern expression of his stupid face!" she said forcefully. "He had no right to treat you that way!"

He laughed nervously. "Somehow, I don't think that would have been the right way to go about things, either. Sora might have dealt with it in the correct manner, though."

"I might have to agree with you on that one."

"I don't want to sound boastful, but you might be right!" she giggled. "Haruhi's got a short temper, and Tsuneo's just too forgiving."

"Hey!"

All four of them whipped around to see two boys hurrying towards them. One had boyish features, with dark brown hair. His tie was askew and his shirt looked like it had never been ironed, and he wore a mischievous grin, looking totally at ease. He waved his hand to them, and they continued to stare blankly ahead. The other boy looked like the total antithesis of him- combed hair, immaculate uniform- kind of like a sheltered genius, engineered for success.

"You're the new people, right?" the grinning boy asked, breathless.

"Yeah," Haruhi replied. She really didn't know what to make of this pair. "Hey, wait a minute, you talked to me in class earlier!"

"I did!" He sounded delighted that she remembered. "My name's Benjirou Kyubei, but you can call me Ben. You're Haruhi Naoko and Sora Sohma."

"We are. This is Tsuneo Sohma. He lives with us," she said, pointing at Tsuneo, who looked a little perturbed.

"Oh, right! And this is Kairi Nagata here with me- he's my best buddy."

"I prefer the term 'close friend'," the other boy corrected. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Haruhi blinked. He sounded a bit like Raiden. She had a feeling they'd get along. There was the transparent smile, the false cheerfulness that acted as a veil of mystery around him, only, with this guy, it was more intense. In fact, upon further thought, he wasn't like Raiden at all. A shadow passed over the boy's face; his eyes weren't smiling.

"What did you want with us?" Haruhi asked, sounding demanding, but trying to keep her irritation to a minimum.

"Oh, not much, we just wanted to say hi," Ben said simply. "And, to tell you something."

"What's that?"

"You're super cute!" he cried, and made a 'thumbs up' sign with both his hands.

"Actually, that was just his idea," Kairi sighed. "I apologise for his behaviour." He grabbed Ben by the shirt. "Come on, you big goof. You want to make yourself look like an idiot? They'll think everyone in this school is stupid."

"Aw, come on buddy, I was only saying the truth. They really are super cute!" Ben said, a completely serious look on his face.

Sora giggled, causing Haruhi to smile. Obviously, Sora wouldn't be annoyed. It was probably impossible to annoy someone like her. Maybe that's why they got along so well together. Sora's naturally tolerant nature was a sufficient tranquiliser to Haruhi. Naoko, too, who was just a little irritable at times.

"What brings you to this school, anyways? It's weird to suddenly start school now, especially in the third year like Tsuneo. What's the story?" Ben inquired. He didn't sound impatient, or hungry for gossip. Just curious.

"There's not much of a story, really. Hell, we just got adopted some time ago, and they thought we should go to school," Haruhi replied, careful not to reveal anything. She raised her left hand and suddenly became absorbed in observing her fingernails. "Naoko doesn't live with us, but we're still related."

"Oh really? I think there's more to it than that," he said with raised eyebrows. Haruhi heard a sharp intake of breath from Sora. Tsuneo swallowed nervously. He closed his rust-coloured eyes halfway, and his animated expression became a little bleak, before suddenly brightening up like a light bulb. This momentary change in mood was enough to spike the curiosity of both Haruhi and Tsuneo. "Heh, I was right, wasn't I? I won't press for details, but I can tell. Yep, shoot, I know when something's up. Anyway, Kairi and me are going to have cake in the cafeteria. You guys want to come?"

"No, thank you," Sora said politely, to the relief of the other three. "We we're just off somewhere else, actually. Sorry, another time, maybe?"

_You liar! _Haruhi thought, amused. Naoko realised the same thing.

"Well then, we'll be seeing you around, I suppose," Kairi said pleasantly, and took Ben by the shoulder. "We should go."

"Sure!" Ben nodded, and walked off with Kairi. The four Zodiacs could hear their light-hearted banter and bickering until they had gone round the corner of the long corridor.

"Are they trying to be friends with us?" Tsuneo asked. "It appears that they used a method I read in a book."

"Oh?" Naoko said. "What's that then?"

"The one where they invite you to eat with them. It's a friendly gesture, meant to make people feel at ease. Personally, I still think hugs are more effective."

Haruhi gulped. She hoped he wasn't referring to the other night.

Haruhi was still astounded; how did Ben pick up on that so quickly? The sudden change in his facial expression when he spoke… It was almost like he too knew what pain and suffering was like. She dismissed the idea- whatever it was, it couldn't be as bad as the Sohma curse.  
>Ben had seemed scruffy and chaotic, and Haruhi could see that he was nice guy. Kairi was the total opposite. It led her to speculate as to why those two were even friends. A bit like Haku and Raiden.<p>

***

"Today was eventful, certainly," Tsuneo said, on the way to the car that day. "If it is like this every day, I think it will become quite tiring. And Naoko was there, too. What a surprise that was."

"Yeah," Sora agreed. "You've got that right! But what do you think about that Ben guy? And his friend Kairi? A weird pair, don't you think?"

"Really weird. I mean, Ben seems like he's on some kind of happy pill," Haruhi snorted. "He's kind of funny, though." She tried to conceal that fact that she thought they were 'different'. Why would it be that everyone else at school chose to ignore them, and those two boys randomly approached them to talk?

"I wouldn't say that," Tsuneo lightly disagreed. "He seems like that sort of person who's known pain. Haruhi thinks so too. She's just not saying because she thinks she might be wrong."

"Tsuneo!" she exclaimed, embarrassed.

Benjirou Kyubei,and Kairi Nagata. She would remember those two names


	7. Chapter 7 An unwelcome house guest

****(A little side note to a guest who pointed out something on my last chapter. Yes they transform when they hug the opposite gender, but members within the Zodiac can hug each other all they like! Watch episode 4- I think- and that will prove it.)

**Hey, thanks for taking the time to read this next chapter! I loved writing this one, so I hope you enjoy it too Review!**

**Chapter 7- An unwelcome house guest.**

It was a Sunday. None of the Zodiacs had risen out of bed- all were still exhausted from their first week at school. Benjirou and Kairi had been rather hospitable, showing them around the school, and, as suggested, they really did eat cake in the cafeteria, which, Haruhi had to admit, was very tasty. Ben had been chatty, and they talked about anime, ninja (which he, too, also loved) and food (which he ate startling amounts of). However, nothing at all was said about any of their personal lives. For understandable reasons, Sora, Tsuneo and Haruhi would lightly avoid speaking of their pasts, and Ben didn't pry. He asked few questions about their lives, and so they honoured that by not asking him any in return. It felt like his mind was uncharted territory. Kairi cheerfully joined in the conversation, Haruhi eventually deciding to overlook his transparency, thinking she was looking for too much into it. She saw this as a development of a friendship, and was optimistically hoping it would continue.

"Haruhi!"

Haruhi grunted in her sleep, and opened one bleary eye. "Dad? What the hell do you want so early in the morning?" she mumbled.

"It's your own damn fault for not waking up in the morning," Kyo replied. "You've got a phone call. It's a boy from school."

"Crap. I have a feeling I know who it is. Tell him I'm not here."

"Too late, already said I'd go get you."

"Dammit!"

She yawned, and stretched out her arms with deliberate sluggishness, musing over how hers and Kyo's speech was similar. Rubbing her eyes, she pulled off the bed sheets and heaved herself off the bed, accidentally knocking over her lamp in the process. Why, why so early? Was it crime to want to sleep on the weekend?  
>She sighed and took the phone from Kyo's hand, and he gave quiet laugh before departing to the living room.<p>

"Yeah?" she muttered, in no mood to speak.

"Hey, it's me, Ben," an enthusiastic voice came from down the line.

"You know Ben, you're very loud."

"Oops, sorry! Anyway, I was just calling to ask something."

"What is it?"

"Can I come round today with Kairi? Please!" he said in a deliberately childish tone. A muffled sound came from his end, along with a small thud. "Get off, Aki!" He said.

"Who's that?" Haruhi asked, curious.

"It's just my older brother. He likes fight games. Anyway, so what do you say?" Another thud. "Go away!"

Older brother? A little strange for an older brother to want to interrupt a phone call with something trivial like that. Even Haruhi wouldn't. She nodded in conviction- definitely something strange about him. However, everyone had their own personal business, and it would be the height of rudeness to interfere. Wait- Haruhi confessed that that sort of thing didn't usually stop her from prying.

"Haruhi? What is it? You've gone quiet."

"Oh, sorry Ben. I'll go ask, wait a sec. Hey, wait, what about Naoko?"

"Oh yeah, she can't come. I already asked her."

"'Kay, just wait a minute while I go ask."

Haruhi dashed into the living room, where Tohru was sat, with Kyo having an arm round her shoulder. They were talking quietly between themselves. When Haruhi entered, they both looked up, equally confused.

"Uh, could I have Ben and Kairi round today? That's what he asked me on the phone," she said, out of breath.

Kyo glanced at Tohru for a second, before clearing his throat. "Sure. Just don't let them know about the curse, got it?"

"Of course!" Haruhi said vigorously. "I would never let them know. That's why it's called a secret, right?"

Tohru smiled. "Well done, Haruhi!" she beamed.

"Why?"

"You're an amazing person! I can tell you're always going to keep the secret safe. That's why we let you go to a co-ed school instead of an all-girls' academy!"

"Don't you want to ask Naoko to come, too? She does go to your school," Kyo added.

"Nah, Ben said he already phoned her, and she can't make it."

Haruhi blushed, and ran out of the room. Outside the door, she smiled from ear to ear, before running into Tsuneo's room.

"Hey, Tsuneo, wake up!" she urged, shaking him.

"Excuse me?" he mumbled, opening his eyes. "It's morning already?"

"Afternoon, actually. We've got guests coming over today!"

"Who? Wait, it's Ben and Kairi, isn't it?"

"Yeah. We've just got to keep the secret safe, and we'll be fine."

"Are you looking forward to their arrival?"

"Well, I guess so. They might become our friends, so I want to get to know them. Especially Ben. He seems a little too jolly, to be honest."

Tsuneo nodded. "Then I will gladly accept them into this house. I'm sure today will be great." He didn't sound too certain.

A couple of hours later, two measured knocks at the door alerted everyone to the presence of their house guests. To general astonishment, it was Tsuneo who got up and padded down the hallway to let them in. He opened the door as quietly and slowly as possible (a strange habit of his) and turned on a small smile to welcome Ben and Kairi.

"Hello," Tsuneo said awkwardly. Haruhi had to smile- it looked like he was making so much effort.

"Hi there!" Ben chirped. He leaned round Tsuneo to look down the hallway, where everyone else was stood watching. "Hi, everyone, we're here!"

"Good morning," Kairi said pleasantly.

They both kicked their shoes off and placed them in the pile they saw beside the door. Haruhi noticed that Ben's shoes were scuffed and peeling away at the soles, and the hem line on his jeans was slightly torn. As she expected, Kairi was a complete contrast. They were like polar opposites, but she had heard Sora say once that opposites attract. Maybe this was what she was on about.

"Cool place you have here," Ben complimented. He walked over to Kyo and Tohru and bowed, suddenly all respectful. "Thanks for letting us come over!"

"It's fine. Make yourselves at home!" Tohru beamed. Ben looked up at her and smiled, if a little sadly, like a distant memory was creeping into his head.

"What is this, a dojo?" Kairi guessed. "It certainly is impressive. I come from a long line of martial artists, and we ourselves own a dojo, but not quite as extraordinary as this one." Haruhi almost sniggered at the lie.

"Yeah, my dad's the master here!" Haruhi supplied.

Feeling the awkwardness of the need to make small talk, Sora rounded the Zodiacs and their friends up, and took them into the living room, saying, "Come on-I just thought of something fun we can do!"

Haruhi clapped her hands together, understanding. "Have ever played ninja?" she asked to them.

Ben and Kairi blinked. "Wha?"

Haruhi had, on no occasion, imagined the possibility that they might make friends with outsiders. Yet, as she sat on the floor with Tsuneo, Sora, Benjirou and Kairi, sipping tea and playing cards after a game of 'ninja', she had to concede that they were making some progress in that area. There, she felt, was a reason that they might never become real friends, unless something happened soon; there was an aura around both Ben and Kairi, a border that felt like it would be impossible to cross. A border like the Juunishi curse. Something was going on in their lives that was hurting them. Whatever it was, she decided to treat them like she didn't suspect a thing- which was probably how they wanted it to stay.

"So, do you like it here? Have you been here long?" Ben asked, observing his hand of cards with intense interest.

"I can't really speak for the other two, but I think I kind of do," Haruhi replied.

"Oh yeah, I have to keep reminding myself that you're adopted. So these guys aren't your real parents?"

"They are," Haruhi nodded.

"Really?" Ben blinked in mild surprise, then seemed to sense he was treading near forbidden territory. "Well, it seems like a pretty good family unit here. Your mother's really nice. She even made us tea!"

"Tohru is lovely," Tsuneo agreed. "If it wasn't for her, I might not be speaking right now. I might still be brooding in a corner. Because, that is how I behaved at first."

"Tohru has a kind of calming influence on people," Sora grinned.

"Like you need to be calmed! You're the calmest person ever!" Haruhi exclaimed, and everyone laughed.

Interrupting them, there was an almost inaudible knock at the front door.  
>As if they had been waiting for it, the Zodiacs rose from their seats with blank faces. Haruhi began to feel a coil of nerves twist insider her, and somehow she felt like her spirit was compelling her to answer that door. Ben and Kairi looked up at them in confusion as a whoosh of tension befell the Zodiacs, their eyes fearfully alert, <em>knowing. <em>

"Expecting someone else?" Ben asked, unsmiling for once, seeing their alarmed expressions.

"Haruhi…" Sora mumbled, panic in her voice. "Haruhi, it's…"

"I know, I feel it too."

"I want to go, but I don't…" Tsuneo whispered. "It is that same feeling again."

They paused, until they heard the door open and Tohru's distant, shocked voice. "Akito!"

"No… I can't stop it anymore," Sora said. "We have to go."

"Sorry, Ben, but could you and Kairi stay in here for a while? Fam- Family business," Haruhi said, struggling to keep her voice even. "The head of the family's here…"

"Sure," Kairi muttered.

"No problem," said Ben.

The door to their room opened, revealing Kyo, whose face was completely desolate. He walked in a little, before taking Haruhi's wrist and leading her to the door.

"It's you she wants to see first, Haruhi…" Kyo muttered. "I'm so sorry, we couldn't keep her out."

Haruhi bit her lip, terrified, but accepting that this was probably fate. She knew Akito would catch up to them one day. Her bird spirit rejoiced. She exited the room, leaving Tsuneo and Sora distressed, and Ben and Kairi totally mystified.

She entered the room on her own, unconsciously brushing the almost completely healed marks on her body.

"Akito…" Haruhi said quietly. Every instinct was screaming at her to embrace Akito, to never let go, to descend deeper in…

"Hi… Haruhi!" Akito said, sat on the floor, skinny, sharp, with silky black hair, a shadow casting over her face.

Haruhi internally shivered. Akito was tapping her fingers lightly on her thighs. Her pupils were small, her mouth was wide open and bent into a smile, and her jet black was cut short and clinging to her head.

Akito slowly rose and took a step forward, and Haruhi backed away slightly when she reached out a hand, and touched her cheek. Her cheek flushed as it was stroked by Akito's bony hand, and Haruhi closed her eyes.

Please… let this be over soon. She thought.

"It seems like it's been such a long time!" Akito said enthusiastically, but her eyes weren't smiling.

"It has been a long time," Haruhi said, nodding. She wringed her hands together in an attempt to combat her racing pulse.

"Won't you come and join me for a time? I haven't had a chance to talk to you since you deserted me," Akito said. Her voice slowly got more spiteful. "I have a few things I want to say to you."

"Fine. Okay." Haruhi sighed. What kind of a person was she if she let herself get broken down that easily? Better to face life's problems head-on than trying to run away like a frightened child.

Akito took Haruhi by the hand and prepared to lead her into the familiar sitting position that they had spent many an hour together, locked together, side by side, in the bond between God and the Zodiac. Haruhi felt almost ashamed at the fact that she loved spending time with God. It felt as if her body was being ripped in two halves, each with a rough, jagged edge to it. One part of her truly loved Akito, the other wanted to kill herself every time she saw her.

Akito sat down, leaning against a wall and raising on knee close to her chest, letting the other one rest straight on the floor.

"Come sit with me, Haruhi," Akito invited, pointing at the floor next to her. Haruhi, with an emotionless face, seated herself next to Akito, who pulled her closer, grabbing tightly onto her clothes. She thought it best to switch off her emotions, to let it slide, to wait it out until it was finished.

Akito leant in closer and whispered something soft in her ear, and their faces brushed against each other's.

"How has your life been? Is living in this house fun… living with those monsters? Does it suit your preferences?" Akito asked.

Haruhi said nothing for a few moments, and sighed. "I don't know." It was true. She didn't know anything anymore, under the presence of Akito Sohma. Up was down, down was up, left was right and right was left, the whole world was back to front and it seemed like no-one understood. Could she condemn the place and forget about all those who lived here, to protect them right now? If she said she hated it, would Akito leave the others alone, satisfied to be correct?

"You don't know?"

"… No."

She felt her soul diminishing every second, until a small fire began to burn desperately inside of her, fighting to keep her soul alight. It was a strange feeling.

"You can come back to me, forever. I love you very much, Haruhi, as the bird, the successor of Kureno, the one closest, by my side. You can live happily among the Sohma."

"It's false happiness, though." Haruhi realised something. She breathed in and out very deeply.

"Huh?"

"Living there, it's false happiness. I could live there and let my soul take over. I could stroll the grounds, talk to you, eat at banquets, all while etching a transparent smile on my face, pretending it's all perfect. But there would be this emptiness inside me, the whole time. I can't decide; I'm so at odd with everything…" Haruhi mumbled, feeling more ashamed every second.

Akito jerked away from her touch, and stood up.

"You ungrateful woman! You think it's not lonely, existing there on my own? The least all you monsters could do was to stay by my side, not abandon me, your God!" she yelled. She was shaking, visibly fuming. "I was born to be loved!"

"Please, Akito, don't get so mad," Haruhi beseeched, concerned that they may be heard by Ben or Kairi; then they would truly have some explaining to do. After that would come a steady stream of questions, questions that were best unanswered.

"Don't order me around. Show some humility!" Akito grabbed Haruhi by the wrist, and yanked her to her feet. She held on, and although Haruhi could have broken the grasp with ease, something prevented her.

"Akito, it doesn't have to be this way, I don't… I don't think so, anyway. I don't know if living with Kyo and Tohru is better than there, not yet, but I'm not abandoning you, I swear!" she shouted, not caring anymore, feeling so confused she felt like her head would burst from the pressure. "I like being the bird, I do!"

Akito let out a cry, and struck Haruhi in the face, a force strong enough almost to knock Haruhi off her feet. Her cheek burned with pain, and she felt blood on her face. It was happening, all over again, it was happening…

***  
>Meanwhile, Tsuneo, having claimed to be going to the bathroom, had abruptly left the room. Ben and Kairi, claiming to be going to the kitchen for food, also departed.<p>

***  
>"Argh!" Haruhi cried, clutching her face, and feeling tears gathering in her eyes from the pain. "Don't… no more pain!"<p>

She hadn't been used to this kind of pain in a long time. She had softened.

"Akito!"

Haruhi gasped as she heard a frantic, familiar voice from behind her.

"Akito, stop!"

Tsuneo ran into the room, looking distressed. He grabbed hold of Akito before she could strike Haruhi again, holding her arms behind her back with considerable effort. He gritted his teeth with the effort of holding Akito still in his grip. Haruhi fell to the floor, a little fearful of the increasing amount of blood trickling down her face and onto the floor.

"You!" Akito spat. "It's the horse. I always hated the horse- did you know, the horse tried to break this curse once! She tried to steal my precious possession! You are just like her- stealing the bird away from me right now!"

Tsuneo trembled, but held strong. His jaw was hard, and his eyes were filled with pain, yet resolute.

"You don't mean that. You always kept me closest next to you, never out of your sight, attending to your every whim… did that mean nothing to you?" Tsuneo asked quietly. Akito narrowed her eyes. "Please," he said in his soft voice. "Akito, please… Leave this house." Akito stopped struggling under his grip, shocked. "Akito, you are hurting someone precious to me. If you leave this room, and return to the main house, things will continue to heal here, and your Zodiac will not abandon you. However, if you continue to cause pain to the people I care about, we might decide to leave you forever, to go away."

Akito elbowed him away, and pulled up the falling shoulders of her kimono. She grabbed Tsuneo by the collar and leant in towards his now terrified face to whisper something in his ear. "Betrayers, all of you… Tsuneo, I made the effort to educate you the most out of everyone here. I even allowed you to sleep in the same room as me, didn't I? And now you're choosing to throw it back in my face, you betrayer?"

She released him from her grasp, and sauntered out of the room. There was so much tension in the room, they could feel it in the air.

Tsuneo hurried over to Haruhi, who was becoming alarmed at the sight of her own blood on the floor. He picked her up, and carried her to the door, before stopping in his tracks.

Benjirou and Kairi were stood, frozen with shock, having witnessed the whole thing.  
><strong><br>*****

"What the heck was that?" Ben breathed.

Tsuneo shook his head, ignored Ben's words and pushed past him. Haruhi was aware of what was going on, but wave after wave are exhaustion flooded through her. Though she was mindful of her bleeding head, she pulled herself down out of Tsuneo's hold and set her feet on the floor.

"Are you okay to walk?" he asked.

"Yeah, just- just get something for this, please," she said, pointing to the wound on her head. She was starting to feel dizzy. Tsuneo nodded, and ran off, Ben in close pursuit.

Soon, Tohru and Sora came rushing with warm water, a cloth, and dressing, and Haruhi allowed them to take care of her while she gazed into space. Not long after this, everyone else in the house was present.

"What the heck kind of family is this?" Ben asked, watching Sora apply the dressing. He seemed astounded that no-one appeared to be overly surprised- only concerned for Haruhi.

"Don't get all worked up. It's normal," Haruhi muttered. "This sort of thing happened all the time before."

"Before?"

Everyone exchanged looks, as if they were conferring telepathically. Haruhi sighed. "We might as well tell them both. It's not as if we can hide anything now, is it?" she said. When Sora had finished with the dressing, Haruhi pushed her hand away. "Thanks," she smiled at her.

"Tell us what?" Kairi asked. "This is no ordinary family, is it?"

"I knew you guys had family troubles," Ben nodded.

"So, who's going to explain?" Haruhi said, looking from person to person. "My dad's probably the best person for this. He's good at explaining stuff."

Kyo looked directly at Ben and Kairi. "I won't go into details about the story behind it. It is complicated, long and unnecessary. I'll just cut to the point.  
>In the Sohma family, at the present time, fourteen members are possessed by the vengeful spirits of the characters of the Chinese Zodiac. The twelve animals, plus the cat, and plus God- that makes fourteen. It is a family curse, and we have lived with it for generations."<p>

Ben did not ask any questions. Ben watched, awestruck by this revelation. Haruhi felt a little pleased- he was going to believe. It was Kairi she was concerned about.

"Possessed? What does that entail?" he questioned.

"I can't tell exactly what the curse _is, _but I can say what it _does _to a person who is possessed. A person possessed by an animal spirit transforms into their animal whenever they are hugged by a member of the opposite sex, or if their bodies are weak. The amount of time they change back varies from time to time."

"That wasn't all- there's more," he replied, still not satisfied.

Kyo took a deep breath, and walked out of the room, saying, "Haruhi, you can explain the rest."

Thanks for reading! :P


	8. Chapter 8 Ben's ordeal

Well hi there people! After Ben and Kairi find out about the Sohmas, Ben goes through a little ordeal of his own, but not before Kairi divulges to the group exactly _why _Ben looks and behaves the way he does…

**Chapter 8- Ben's ordeal**

"And this Akito person… wants you back? Because… you lived there for so long, and she doesn't want to lose you?"

"Yeah. If Akito actually came and physically grabbed us, we wouldn't be able to resist, unless we summoned up some hellishly strong power of will at the time. Akito's orders are absolute, like a holy law. Luckily, today, she just came to 'talk' to us. My little incident caused her to leave, but she'll be back."

"You guys transform when you're hugged, right?" Ben asked.

"Prove it," Kairi ordered.

"I'll prove it!" Ben cried, and ran over to Sora. Kairi opened his mouth, like he wanted to object to this. Ben wrapped his arms around her and gave her a big bear hug. There was a small 'poof' noise, and sure enough, there appeared a small orange cat curled up on Sora's clothes, looking shell-shocked. Haruhi smirked. She was sure Ben used that as an opportunity to get closer to Sora.

Kairi gasped. "It's true?"

"Every word," Tsuneo nodded gravely. "I'm the horse, and Haruhi is the bird."

Ben and Kairi were struck speechless at all these revelations, and, suddenly, Ben looked saddened. His face went distant, like he had just been reminded of something upsetting. Kairi reached out towards Sora, and tickled underneath her chin, making her giggle.

"Well, I like cats," he said in his overly pleasant voice. He turned to Ben. "So, what do we do now?"

"We're going to have to tell Akito," Haruhi mumbled. "As much as we'd like to keep this a secret, we're still part of the Sohma family, and she's the head of that family. We can't let it slide."

"What's going to happen to us?"

"Well, you might have your memories of today erased. In fact, you probably will."

"Wha-? I don't want that to happen! You guys are so cool!" Ben complained, snapped out of his momentary sadness. He paused for a moment. "But… if our memories get erased… we'd have to meet you all over again, right?"

"Huh?"

"Well, I for one don't want to lose you guys. This family sure is crazy, but it sounds like this curse thing is a pretty heavy burden. I'm sure you'd want some friends while you're busy coping with being an animal, ha!"

Tsuneo's face soothed out into a small smile, and Haruhi felt tears prickle in her eyes. Friends… actual friends. She still didn't feel close to Kairi, but that would come in time, but Ben seemed so decent, so friendly and honest. After all Akito's words, years ago, that they would be hated, scorned upon and that they were all alone, Ben's invitation of friendship meant something very important to the Zodiacs.  
>Ben got up and left the room for the bathroom. Watching him leave, Kairi's expression turned solemn.<p>

"This is a big deal for him, too, you know," Kairi said. "He's finally met some people who've known pain. He doesn't believe that you lived _happily _in that house for your whole lives. You're all so naïve. You behave like a child, Haruhi, Tsuneo takes everything literally like a toddler, and Sora is mimicking the behaviour of Tohru like puppet. He doesn't know what was going on in that house, but he knows it wasn't pleasant."

"Where are you going with this?" Haruhi questioned. To be honest, she was a little freaked out about how well Kairi seemed to know Ben.

"I mean, he feels like he has someone he can trust now, someone _like him._"

"Why's that?"

"Do you know why Ben's clothes are always torn, faded and dirty? Why his uniform is too big for him? Why is so accepting of you three?" Haruhi shook her head wordlessly. "It's because, he has been under the care of his abusive mother ever since the death of his father."

"What?! His father- died?" Well, this was a revelation.

"Yes. His father was murdered when he eleven years old. Ben loved his father, and so did his mother. As a consequence, his mother took up drinking, and with drink comes violence. That's not all of it, however. His older brother is mentally unstable. He likes to play, but can get rather rough on occasion. Also, his moods can fluctuate violently, leading to him lashing out at Ben. Of course, he has never once fought back, never once blamed them for any of it- because he wants his family to accept him so much."

Haruhi, Sora and Tsuneo all became very subdued. So it looked like the world outside the curse could be just as terrifying.

"I guess… I never knew my parents, so I can't even begin to imagine the pain he's going through right now."

"You would never have known it though. Not with that smile he is always wearing," Tsuneo said.

"I knew," Haruhi mumbled. "I knew there was something about him, like he knew our pain."

But what she didn't get was why Kairi was speaking so calmly about it, without any emotion whatsoever. He was telling them to help them understand Ben better, right? And Ben was supposed to be his best friend, yet he was speaking with such detachment, which Haruhi didn't like at all.

***

Ben decided to stay at the house for a while, after Kairi decided he'd rather leave. He sat with the three Zodiacs, not knowing that the curse wasn't just an obligation to obey God, with the comical consequence of turning into an animal, only suspecting.  
>Haruhi had decided to spare him that little detail. It was best that he didn't know the inner workings of the Sohma curse.<p>

***

*A FEW DAYS LATER*

A hurried, frantic series of knocks came at the door. As Tohru and Kyo were both out, it was the Zodiacs who heard.

They were sat out in the garden, talking to the birds and cats that had gathered. Luckily, the horses seemed to be absent, which relieved Tsuneo, who was actually a little scared of them.

"I wonder who it could be," Sora mumbled. "Shall we go and see?"

"Yes," Tsuneo nodded. "It might be Ben, actually. He's the only one who knows where we live."

Haruhi ran with the others to the door, to see something that took them all aback.

Ben was stood, sweating and out of breath, with tears in his eyes. He was gasping for air, and his hands were shaking. His hair hung over his face and he looked devastated by something. Haruhi's eyes widened. What on Earth could have happened to him?

"Ben!" Sora cried. "What's wrong? Are you okay? Come in!"

Ben nodded, and took her hand, using her for support. Sora flushed scarlet and tightened her hand round his, leading him into the living room. Haruhi followed with Tsuneo, who looked at a loss for what to do in this situation.  
>Sora sat Ben down, and he gratefully took a towel that she handed to him. After wiping his forehead, he draped it round his shoulders.<p>

"Thanks… I knew you would all let me in," he muttered, and hastily wiped the tears from his eyes.

"You have to tell us what happened!" Sora implored. She hesitated for a moment. "…Ben, we've never seen you like this- something has happened to you, hasn't it?"

"It's not me… Well, it is, but… Oh, Sora, I've done something terrible! I don't know how and I don't know why!" he rambled. He covered his face with his hands. "Something happened to my mind last night, and then- my mother- she…"

"Tell us properly," Tsuneo said quietly. "What happened to your mind?"

"Last night… Last night, I had a headache. Like, a really, really bad one, only, it didn't feel normal. It wasn't my actual head that was in pain, it was my _mind. _I could feel something changing inside me. I decided to ignore it. I was really tired, up with my brother half the night 'cause, well, mum was too tired to take care of him."

"Go on," Haruhi urged, when he paused.

"When I woke up, everything felt normal again, except, for some reason, I felt like a huge burden had just been put on me. I can't explain it properly, but that's what it felt like.  
>My mum, she didn't feel too well. She had a few drinks the night before, just casually, but she woke up feeling really bad. My brother was shouting so much, and I was stressed out. I…" he stopped, and his face became even more pained.<p>

"What happened?" Sora pressed gently.

"…I reached out to take my mum's temperature, I put my hand on her forehead… and then, this weird pull inside me came out and then- I couldn't stop myself- this big flash filled the room. My mum fell backwards and onto the floor. I thought I'd accidentally pushed her or something, and she fell unconscious, but…" he paused for breath, "But then she woke up, and couldn't remember a thing about me!"

"What?"

"She forgot who I was! She remembered what happened five seconds before, she remembered my brother, but she had lost all her memory of me!" He punched the wall beside him. "What did I do to her?!"

"You know…" Tsuneo said thoughtfully. "That sounds a lot like the memory suppression technique. Ben might have accidentally used it on his mother."

"But that's only a Sohma family thing!" Haruhi protested, utterly confused. Sora put her arms around Ben while he calmed down.

"My dad was a Sohma, you know," Ben muttered.

"WHAT?!"

"His name was Tora Sohma."

"But-then- I know what happened!" Haruhi cried. Ben sniffed and swallowed in response to that. "Ben… we're really, really sorry about what happened to your mum, but there isn't really anything that can be done."

"I think you suppressed your mother's memory of you by accident, Benjirou," Tsuneo said sombrely. Ben gasped. "We don't know how, but you must be related to the side of our family that deals with suppression of memories. And those powers must have awakened inside you, the night you had that headache. You couldn't quite control your powers yet, and you buried the memories your mother has of you…"

Ben buried his face in his hands. "What have I become? I can't even control myself enough not to do that to my own mum?"

"Ben, it's not like that, it was an accident," Sora comforted. "Please, don't beat yourself up about it. We heard about your father from Kairi. He told us about everything that happened to your family. If that's true, then why?"

"I don't hate my mother for what she became. My dad loved her, and I want to protect her because of him! If I let her get hurt, I'd never be able to face my dad! And now I have, I erased her memories of me. What do I do now?  
>I took my brother out of that house and left him with my grandparents. It's not safe for him there, with mum. But I don't know what to do!"<p>

Haruhi felt sad- sadder than she had ever felt. How must it have felt for the Sohma who erased all their parents' memories of their children? Did he feel the same pain Ben was feeling at the loss of his mother's memories? Ben was, distantly, a Sohma, and tied up with the fate of having the memory suppression technique.

"Stay with us," Haruhi said, hitting upon an idea. "Stay with us, Ben!"

"Yes, you'd be happy here!" Sora chimed. "Please Ben, stay with us! If you did, I'd be very happy!"

"So would I," Haruhi agreed. She raised an eyebrow at Tsuneo.

"If it would make Haruhi happy, then please, Ben, stay with us," Tsuneo said.

Ben looked from person to person, before wiping the tears off his face and switching on a smile. "Sure!"

"Ben, you're a part of this part of the family now. You're no longer an 'outsider', now that you have this technique. So there's no need to hold back your heartbreak- we know exactly how it feels," Tsuneo said. "While you're staying with us, you'll heal."

"Tsuneo's right," Haruhi nodded. "We're so sorry that we couldn't do anything for your family, but while you're here, you'll heal. The memories your mother lost can't come back now, but you can treasure the memories of her, right?"

Ben smiled again- this time, a real one. "Thanks, guys. You're good friends."

Sora gasped.

"What is it?" Haruhi asked.

"We still have to tell your mum and dad, Haruhi!"

"Oh, crap."

***

*TOHRU AND KYO HAVE NOW RETURNED HOME*

"Huh?" Kyo said, poking his head round the door. "Your classmate is actually a Sohma, he inherited the memory suppression technique, and because of tragic accident, he now has to live here? That's what you're telling me?"

"Well, yeah, in a nutshell," Haruhi nodded.

"A what?" Tsuneo questioned.

"Never mind, Tsuneo."

"I already told Akito about the incident with Kairi and Ben, by the way. Naturally, she was furious, but she decided that, in exchange for Ben erasing Kairi's memories of seeing her here, he can stay here."

"Really? That's great! I guess… What do you think, Ben?" Sora asked him.

He was fiddling with the ripped hem of his trousers, and was brought out of his daydream with a quick tap on the back from Haruhi. "Wha-? Oh, well… as long as it's just the memories of that day, then… that's okay!"

"That's settled then!" Sora chirped. "You'll stay here!"

"Also, Akito… Akito has decided to let you remain outside the main house for now."

"It's because she hates us now, right?"

Kyo blanched. "That about sums it up. She doesn't hate you… She can't. But she is very, very mad. If things go back to how they were when I was living outside with the curse, then all should be fine."

"First, we'll need to get _him _some clothes," Tsuneo commented, eyeing Ben's scruffy attire.

Haruhi had been watching Tsuneo for a while now. Since the incident with Akito, he was starting to act more and more confident. He was gaining self-esteem, bit by bit. The terrified, distant Tsuneo had disappeared, and revealed the true him underneath. She sighed. There were so many great people in her life, kind, funny, gentle people. She was grateful to all of them. 


	9. Chapter 9 The hot spring catalyst

Hello! This chapter is rather interesting… ;) A little cheesy maybe, but hey, every anime/manga fanfiction needs a few of those moments. I thought it was cute. Anyway, enjoy, and review please! Feedback is lovely to have…****

**Chapter 9- The hot spring catalyst**

**Tsuneo's view**

Since arriving at Tohru and Kyo's home, Tsuneo had gone through a whirlwind of emotional change. Day one was bewildering and arduous; he had been ripped out of Sohma house, right out of Akito's room. He had been so terrified, so afraid of leaving the house that they had to drag him. He had struggled and wept, he had threatened to grab onto Akito and wake her up, since she was slept next to him. At the house was no different. The troubling devotion that Akito had scarred him with still ate away at him, and it made him distance himself from the group, stare at a wall and long to be back in the security of the main house. Truly, the outside world was frightening to him. Everything was new, and the fear he felt was more intense than that of the others, who were pleased to be free. No-one understood him. No-one tried to reach out to him. Until Haruhi. After she agreed with him, acknowledged his presence in that conversation, he, like a scared child, latched onto her emotionally. However, it wasn't until he saw her upset and hurt for the first time after her fight with Kyo, that he realised he wanted to protect her from harm. He had found something more precious to him than Akito. However, every time she tried to get a little closer, alarm bells inside him started ringing.

"Hey, Tsuneo!"

He felt something heavy hit him on the back.

"Why did you do that?" he asked, rubbing his back. "Ben, I don't like being touched."

Although Ben was a little irritating, and he only tolerated his presence, Tsuneo found it impossible to get mad at him. Ben didn't mean to be that way- he now had to opportunity to relax and be a kid again, and Tsuneo wasn't going to take that away from him.

"Sorry man, I just wanted to tell you something," Ben replied.

"What is it?"

"We're going to a hot spring!"

"A what? I read about one of those. It does sound nice," Tsuneo mused. "What is the occasion?"

"Oh, I just thought we needed time to relax, to cool off a bit. Things have been pretty intense lately, haven't they?"

"And you thought the best place to 'cool off' would be a hot spring?" That was it. He was officially confused.

To his relief, Sora arrived on the scene to rescue him. "You dummy, Tsuneo. He doesn't mean it literally. I think the hot springs is a great idea! I'll get Haruhi." She ran to the door, and yelled out, "Haruhi! Come here a sec!"

Soon enough, Haruhi came running, a toothbrush poking out her mouth and a dressing gown wrapped around her, looking slightly annoyed. She cracked her knuckles.

"What did you drag me out the bathroom for?" she said mutinously through a mouthful of toothpaste. (I'll leave her expression to your imagination)!

"No matter how hard you try, you can't look threatening right now, Haruhi," Sora giggled.

"We're going to a hot spring," Tsuneo told her. He didn't have it in himself to laugh. Not to mention the fact that he couldn't. "Ben thinks we need to relax."

"Doesn't the Sohma own one? We could go there," Sora suggested. "It sounds lovely. I've never been to a hot spring, so I don't really know what I'm supposed to do there, but we can learn!"

"Great idea! I can't wait now!" Ben rejoiced. He looked at Sora. "It'll be great spending time with everyone!"

Tsuneo raised his eyebrows. Inner translation: It'll be great spending time with Sora!

"That's settled then. Off to the hot springs we go!"

Haruhi sighed. "Can I go and get dressed now?"

***

They were greeted at the entrance by an old, very frail-looking lady in a kimono. Tsuneo glanced down at his own kimono, checking that his was on correctly, and that the lady's kimono was, indeed, far too baggy. He had been looking forward to this trip, for Haruhi's sake.

"Hell, it looks awesome!" Haruhi commented, peering around her.

Tsuneo smiled. "It does. I'm certain our time here will be wonderful." She was right. They were surrounded on all sides by dense forest, and a neat, tree-lined path led them to the doors of the sleeping quarters.

Unbeknownst to her, Tsuneo had watched Haruhi change as well, from an erratic, hyperactive girl with the inability to display anything but anger in front of others to a cheerful, outspoken and kind person. He had been right- Tohru and Kyo had been healing them both, all this time. Maybe his hug didn't do anything at all, he worried.

"Hello, young men and women, let me show you to your rooms," the old lady said, cheerful enough, but looking like her legs would collapse beneath her.

"Are you alright?" Tsuneo asked her, holding her elbow so she wouldn't fall. It was little scary when she suddenly held a death grip on his arm. "Are you sure you're okay?" his voice shot up an octave.

"I'M FINE! I'M SORRY TO BURDEN YOU WITH MY POOR HEALTH, YOUNG MAN! I'M A PITIFUL HUMAN BEING AND I SHOULD BE PUNISHED FOR MY SINS! MY SINCEREST APOLOGIES, OH GOD, SORRY FOR BURDENING YOUR LOVELY PLANET WITH TRASH LIKE THIS OLD LADY WHO WOULD USE A DECENT YOUNG MAN TO SUPPORT HER STANDING WEIGHT! FORGIVE ME, WORLD!" she roared.

"What are you doing?" he cried. "Really, I don't mind helping you walk, if you need it."

"You're a very kind young man," she smiled. Who was this lady? She was so odd. He was used to being around people with mood swings, but this was ludicrous.

"Yes he is," Sora said brightly. "Don't look so scared, Tsuneo!"

Ben's face darkened for a second, for some unknown reason, then brightened again when Sora's attention was diverted from Tsuneo, who was still under the weirdly powerful grip of the hot spring lady.  
>Already, this trip to the hot springs was turning out to be pretty eventful, and everyone seemed to find his episode with the manageress rather amusing. Ben patted him on the back as if to say 'You poor soul' as they were led to the rooms Tsuneo still attached to the lady, who now looked perfectly content.<p>

"Hey, now that we've dumped our stuff, do you guys think we should try out the hot spring?" Ben suggested, a little too enthusiastically for Tsuneo's liking.

"I'd like to," Tsuneo volunteered, after deciding that it would be a good opportunity to get to know Ben better. Ben seemed to have the same idea, actually.

"It's a great bonding activity for buddies!" he said, trying to tempt the girls, who had linked arms. Haruhi rolled her eyes at him.

"Okay, let's go then!" Haruhi said. She and Sora danced out of the room.

Ben grabbed his towel and looked at Tsuneo. "I wanted to talk to you alone."

"I figured as much." Tsuneo had been suspecting that something was on Ben's mind. He had been acting a little oddly- not in his words or actions, but in his facial expressions.

***

Tsuneo had to admit, he felt a little strange sharing a hot spring with Ben, since it required him not to wear any clothes. He turned his back to Ben, whipped off the towel, and hastily climbed into the water.

"Hot!" he gasped. He flinched; the last of the sore spots on his back were smarting from the heat of the water. "Ouch."

"The head of your family… is cruel," Ben said quietly, eyeing Tsuneo rubbing his back. "To think that they could do that..."

"Oh, this?" Tsuneo said, pointing at his back. "It's nothing. I cannot go against Akito's wishes, no matter how much I might want to. I don't blame her for any of it, at all. I can't."

"I see. Is that because she is like a God to you?"

"My feelings towards Akito are… complicated. The relationship between God and the Zodiac has always been a complicated one. We can despise her as a person, but we can never truly hate her. We _love _her, and it's a strange feeling."

Tsuneo didn't know why, but his feelings were spilling out to this boy in front of him. He was listening, interested in every word he said. Ben was a bit like Haruhi. They emitted the same aura.

"By the way, you know Sora?"

"I do," he replied.

"Does she not mind being cursed?" Ben asked. "She seems so happy all the time."

"I do not really know, but Haruhi has told me that she was happy, even in the main house. She never gave up hope of getting out, not once. Even after Akito's rages, she still sounded optimistic. She likes cats, I know that, but I don't know exactly how she feels about being cursed."

"And Haruhi?"

"Again, I don't know. I am not sure, but I think she is resentful for the curse having ripped so many of us from our families. Why are you asking this? Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?"

Ben flushed. "Well it's… I think… I think I want to break the curse."

"But you've literally just learned of it! How do you know we aren't satisfied with the way we are living? Surely you realise that we accept our fate? We can live outside for now, but eventually we will all be confined again. You do understand things are more complicated than that?" Tsuneo rambled. What was Ben saying? Break the curse?

"Do you know how to break it?"

"I don't even know what the curse is, exactly. Like Kyo said, we only know what it _does. _I know Tohru tried to break it once, but it only returned."

"Right…"

So, Ben wanted to break the curse… But for what reason? Why did Sora and Haruhi have to come into this? It couldn't be possible that Ben liked one of them, could it? Somehow, when he thought of Ben liking Haruhi, it filled him with anger.

"So, what do you say? Wanna help me break it?" Ben said, patting Tsuneo on the shoulder, at which Tsuneo flinched.

"Okay."

The curse… What was it, exactly? When did it become a curse? He knew next to nothing about it, not much more than Ben, but it felt like climbing the tallest mountain- breaking a bond of blood was something he had no idea how to do. They would be stumbling blindly around, looking for an answer, plus… It might actually be impossible to break the curse.

"I'm not doing this for you, by the way," Ben said, surprising Tsuneo. "Watching Sora fawn over you like that… I don't know why, but I don't like it. At all. All I want is for her to be happy."

"I feel the same way about Haruhi."

"You see, I lost my dad, and now I've lost my mum, and my older brother, too. I know the curse of the Zodiac must be bringing the Zodiacs all sorts of pain right now, and so I want to save the only people I have left to care about from being hurt for the rest of their lives."

Tsuneo smiled. "I understand."

He and Ben might only have been working together only for the sake of the ones they cherished, not because they liked each other, but Tsuneo somehow felt satisfied by this. From now on, they would be friends on the surface, but working together underneath, doing it not to benefit everyone on a larger scale, but for Sora and Haruhi alone. But that suited Tsuneo just fine; after all, what was life without a bit of a healthy challenge?

***

"So boys, did you have some male bonding time in the pool there?" Sora teased when they returned that evening, completely unaware of their decision. They had come back much later than she had.

Ben and Tsuneo glanced at each other, and looked away just as quickly, their brows furrowed in gruff embarrassment. How could they tell the girls what they were planning?

"I guess," Ben said, and cleared his throat. "How was your time?"

"It was great! Me and Haruhi found the water very relaxing, although she did nearly faint in there," Sora sang. How could she be jolly at such an event?

"By the way, where is Haruhi? Is she in the bathroom or something?" Tsuneo asked. She wasn't in the room.

"Oh, she left her hair tie back at the hot spring, so she went to get it."

"How long ago was that?" His voice had gotten smaller.

Sora looked up at the clock, and her smile faded. "Now you mention it, it was quite a while ago. Before it got dark, I mean. She's been gone for some time," she said, growing in anxiety at the sight of Tsuneo's face.

"How could you let her go on her own?" he whispered. "It's dark out now- what if she got lost?"

"I'm sorry Tsuneo, I know you care about her, but-"

"I'll go and find her!"

He grabbed his coat and ran to the door.

"Tsuneo! Buddy, wait, I'll come with you!" Ben called after him. Sora put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head.

"Tsuneo cares about Haruhi very much. I don't think he'll stop for anything right now," she said quietly. "He's really changed since the old days."

"Please, wait here until I get back," Tsuneo insisted. Ben took Sora's hand and nodded.

Where was she? He wandered around in the darkness, having no idea himself as to where the ladies' bathing area was. He felt uncomfortably like a pervert, stumbling round in the darkness to find it. She must be out there too, somewhere, he thought. Knowing her sense of direction, she had probably wandered off site, or fallen over or something. His heart constricted in panic.

"Haruhi!" he called out. "Where are you?"

She wasn't anywhere within earshot, that was for sure. Why did she have to be so reckless? He wasn't sure why he felt so upset. In the days when he would not speak a word to anyone, his mind was blank, and the only emotion he ever felt was fear. He had never cared about anything besides Akito. These new emotions were what scared him now. What was going on inside his head?

The moonlight was too dim to light up the surrounding areas. Tsuneo flinched as his arm was dragged through a nettle bush.

"Ouch!" he muttered. But that pain didn't matter to him. He had to find Haruhi before she did something stupid.

It seemed like he was searching forever, and matters were made far worse by the sudden downpour of rain. The wind picked up, howling and lashing the trees, creating a din too loud to shout through and be heard. He continually wiped the rain off his face, and his tangle of blonde hair out of his eyes.

"Haruhi!" he shouted, tearing his way through the branches and bushes. He soon became aware that his coat had been ripped off, and he was running around in his kimono and sandals.

_I don't want us to be apart. _He though desperately. _Nothing matters anymore, except your safety. How could I have let you get hurt like this? Again and again, I'm always too late to help. I couldn't help you after your fight with Kyo, and I couldn't stop Akito from injuring you, and scaring you like that. To me, that was the scariest thing of all- knowing I was too late again. This time is no different- I am so useless!_

His foot hit something on the floor, and he almost tripped over. It wasn't a branch or anything… it was a person. His mind took a moment to register her presence, and when it clicked, he slapped his hand to his mouth in shock.

"Haruhi!" he gasped, and picked her up off the floor. He tapped her face sharply. "Haruhi, are you okay?"

"Tsuneo, is that you?" she whispered, with her eyes closed. "Thank God you're here. I was lost…"

"You were a bit more than lost!" he exclaimed. "You must have tripped and fallen. I'm so sorry, I wasn't there to help you."

"It's okay… let's get out of here."

He nodded, and fought his way back through the branches and into the clearing where the villa was, which was annoyingly easy to find after all the trouble he went through to find Haruhi. He must have been wandering around in circles.  
>The downpour finally stopped, although the wind carried on blowing.<p>

"Are you okay to walk?" he asked, placing her on the ground. She flushed and pushed his hands away.

"I'm fine. What about you? You must have been frightened- you don't usually like going outside on your own, Tsuneo," she said, looking surprised, and, he thought, impressed.

"I wasn't scared. I knew I had to find you, and that kept the fear away, that's all."

"Oh, Tsuneo, you crack me up!" she laughed. "You're always so honest. If you keep acting like this, I might believe you're normal one day!"

He stepped closer and put his hand on her lower back. This time, he was doing the right thing.

"Tsuneo, what are you-?"

"I'm so glad you're okay," he mumbled, pulling her into his chest. "I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you."

"I think you might be overreacting there, Tsuneo…"

"I don't. Not really."

Nothing mattered anymore. His fears, his past, her past… None of that crossed his mind. As he held her head into his chest and bent his head downwards, his fears suddenly flew to the other side of the world.

HARUHI'S VIEW

She never realised how big Tsuneo was. She almost fancied he'd grown a little since arriving at Tohru and Kyo's. His chest felt like the safest place in the world right now.

He pulled away, his face still showing signs of distress.

"Tsuneo, it's okay, you don't have to worry about me, I'm fine, see?" she smiled. "Your hug made it better. Like you said, it can mend a broken heart."

"Haruhi, I…" he muttered. "I wasn't there to stop you falling over. I keep hurting you again and again. I don't deserve this."

He swallowed guiltily, and his eyes were on her like a physical touch. She reached out and touched his face instinctively. She wanted to erase all that pain from him, all those painful thoughts. As she brushed his damp sandy-coloured hair away from his face, his anxious eyes just continued to stare at her.

"I can't seem to understand you, Tsuneo," she said. "All this time, I keep missing you. You're wrong about one thing, though. You actually have helped me. After my fight with Kyo, you were to only one who came to see if I was okay. You came looking for me this evening. You stopped Akito, you sent her away. You offer the best advice. Tsuneo, you don't understand- you're really a kind person!"

"You have tried to understand me, and it's the most anyone's tried to do."

"I always knew I was amazing."

Haruhi wanted to embrace him again, to sooth his anxieties, to ease his pain, but something in her heart was screaming at her to leave him alone and run back to Akito. Something was forbidding her to touch him. Was it the curse?

"Don't beat yourself up. I never really pegged you as the self-punishing type," she said, a little flustered.

"I'm still sorry," he murmured, so softly that his voice faded in with the darkness.

Haruhi's heart raced as he pressed his lips softly to her forehead, and lingered there for a moment.

"Tsuneo," she began, in a very small voice.

"I'm okay. I'm alright. You don't need to worry. I'll stop with the self-punishment thing."

He turned swiftly around, and slid open the doors to the villa. Not turning his back, he made his way inside.

***

*TSUNEO'S VIEW*

Tsuneo stepped into the villa, greeted by everyone standing in a line, looking highly amused.

"Tsuneo's got the hots!" Ben cried, slamming him on the back.

"What?"

"We saw you just now!" he laughed.

Tsuneo flushed crimson. "No, you didn't," he said abruptly, and ran into the bedroom. Dammit. They saw. Now everyone knew.

*HARUHI'S VIEW*

As she stepped in through the door, with a ripped kimono and soggy hair, Sora and Ben erupted into gales of laughter.

"What the hell?" she said irritably, looking from person to person.

"It must have been a little chilly out there in the rain," Ben choked. "But I presume Tsuneo warmed you okay?"

"Where is he, anyway?"

"In our bedroom, probably brooding,"

Haruhi nodded. She decided that she might as well take it. The more she thought about it, the more she knew that, yes- she did love Tsuneo, and the more she thought about _that- _the less she regretted it. He was gentle, quiet, wise and honest; of course she loved him.  
><span><strong><br>**

That should have been a nice little chapter for those HaruhiXTsuneo fans


	10. Chapter 10 What is the curse?

**Hi guys, I hope you enjoy the next instalment! If could take the time to review it, that would be fantastic- feedback is always welcome, right? Shorter chapter this time around, too. Anyways, enjoy and sorry for any typos. I assure you, nothing was misspelled knowingly  
><strong>

**Chapter 10- What is the curse?**

She entered the room. Ben had been right; Tsuneo was sat on the bed, staring at the wall, his hands clasped together and his head bent in deep thought. He didn't look up when she entered, instead choosing to smile a little to himself.

"Everyone laughed," she started awkwardly.

"Yes, they did. Regarding that kiss…"

"I think Ben loves Sora, too."

"Yes, he does. Very much so. I wanted to tell you something that me and Ben agreed, and it's regarding the feelings we both share towards you and Sora."

Haruhi stopped in her tracks. This made everything she was going to say after that fly out the window. She sensed Tsuneo was going to say something very important, and she knew what it was about.

"Ben and I… want to figure out how to break the curse."

"I figured as much."

"For you and for Sora, and for the older Zodiacs, still confined in the main house. Akito's taken so many memories, so many precious things away from people, that the curse needs to be broken again to free everyone."

"When we get back, I'm gonna ask Kyo and Tohru about it. They probably know something about it all."

There was a hurried knock on the door. Haruhi looked up to see Ben standing there, looking breathless.

"Look, I know we were meant to have a few more days here, but Kyo and Tohru just phoned and they say there's a couple of visitors for you guys, so you got to come back now," he said in one breath.

"Who are they?"

"Dunno, they didn't say. But we're heading back, first thing tomorrow."

The journey back was as bumpy and intermittent as the first journey from the main house had been. From Sora's expression, Haruhi could tell that she knew; Ben must have told her. With everyone's joint resolve, Haruhi was sure they could break the curse… if there even was a way. Was there a way? If someone as amazing as Tohru couldn't do it, who could? Like Raiden had said, long ago, you couldn't mess with bonds of blood. A bond a blood… how on Earth were they meant to break that? It sounded wrong.  
>As the mini-bus pulled up in front of the dojo, the chauffeur put his hand for the fee. Haruhi slipped some money into his expectant hand and followed Tsuneo, Sora and Ben out of the bus. Her heart was hammering for some reason, and she had the feeling that the others' were as well. Would Tohru and Kyo approve of what they decided? Probably, but would they help? No-one knew the answer to that.<p>

"Welcome back!"

Haruhi heard Tohru's sunny voice and saw her running towards them, holding Kyo's hand. She looked a little confused as to why they all looked like someone had just died.

"Oh… Hi there," Haruhi said weakly. "We are so glad to be back."

"Oh, why?" her smile faded slightly.

"We have something to ask you," Tsuneo said sombrely. "Plus, we would like to find out who the visitors are."

As they walked inside, Kyo seemed to understand what this was all about. It was amazing how one trip to a hot spring could change them all so much. They had returned with a new resolve.

"We have someone here with us," Kyo added, looking behind himself at the group of teenagers. "It might interest you."

"Who?" Sora asked.

"Well, three people actually, but they came separately. Yuki and Naoko are two of them. They're just here for a visit, and Kureno will be staying with us for a while."

***

It felt like the first day: confusing. Haruhi went first into the living room, to see Yuki knelt down in his usual neat Chinese attire, talking to the one they called Kureno, and Naoko, who looked up at Haruhi and grinned.  
>Kureno had a strange shade of auburn hair and matching eyes, and he had a gentle face, both kind and apologetic. He looked up when they walked in, and smiled at Haruhi. She cracked a small grimace back, wondering why she felt a strange connection to him. It was a weird feeling, like a pull.<br>Diverting her attention from this, she looked at Yuki and her face lit up. It was good, like seeing an old friend. He looked much happier than he had on the night she met him. Maybe it was getting Naoko back.

"Long time, no see!" she grinned at Naoko.

"Hi, Haruhi! I'm here visiting with dad. Cool, huh?" she replied. She seemed close to Yuki already.

"You look different. Brighter, more content. Kyo and Tohru have done a good job," Yuki complimented. "It's good to see everyone again. You have all come along quite nicely."

"Who's this guy?" she said, pointing her thumb dismissively (her attempt at bravado) at Kureno, who was smiling from person to person.

"Hey, calm down, I won't bite," he joked. He had a strangely serene expression. "I'm Kureno Sohma; I used to be the bird of the Zodiac before you. Although, you probably sensed that."

"I see, that's who you are!" She realised something. "Bu-But I thought you had your memories erased! Why are you here? How?"

"Well, they weren't buried very deeply- as soon as I saw Kyo and started talking to him, I remembered everything. I've seen my son Raiden- yesterday- and everything's coming back to me," he said happily. He seemed a bit distant, but cheerful, like Tohru. She also noticed how handsome he was for someone his age.

"You must be glad," she supplied, a bit stuck for conversation topics. This wasn't her forte. "Are you seeing him again soon?"

"He's coming to live with us, but I'll be staying here for a while. My wife Arisa is taking care of him while I'm here. I managed to get her memories back, too, after some work."

Kyo cleared his throat, and Haruhi realised with discomfiture that everyone had been listening to their conversation. Sora giggled. They were all still stood up. Tsuneo was the first to move, and seated himself next to Haruhi, and Ben Sora followed suit. Ben sat almost possessively close to Sora at the sight of Tsuneo and Haruhi, which made Sora flush a little.  
>Tohru stood at Kyo's side, looking content and blissful as always.<p>

"That's really all I was going to explain anyway," Kyo sighed. "Kureno's going to be staying with us for a while. Allowing some bonding time for Arisa and Raiden, and also because they seem to have had a fight."

Kureno bit his lip and gave a short chuckle. "Yes, about that… She was a bit- very annoyed that we had both our memories erased, and wanted to go to Hatori to confront him. I tried to stop her, and, well…" He pointed to the red mark on his cheek that Haruhi just noticed. "She'll be over it soon… I hope!"

"Anyway," Kyo said, turning serious. "What did you all want to ask us?"

Haruhi, Tsuneo, Ben and Sora all exchanged glances, silently deciding who would be the one to speak. Haruhi eventually accepted that that would have to be her. Somehow, she had taken over the role as the natural leader of the group.

"Kyo…" She began quietly. "What is the curse, exactly?"

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became very tense. There was a faint ringing in her ears. Naoko's eyes darted between Haruhi and the others. Haruhi remembered that she didn't know.

"Because I think that you really do know what it is… You were the cat, after all."

Kyo sighed, and then took a deep breath, as if he were preparing to drop a bombshell or something. "I wanted you to figure it out on your own, which is why I didn't tell you. I think that you probably know by now as well, actually.  
>The curse is… Well, it's more than just the transformation into the Zodiac animal when hugged, or weak. It's more than an obligation to obey Akito. The curse is a prevention."<p>

"A prevention? Of what?"

"It's a prevention of love. In the old legend, God wished for all the animals to stay by his side for eternity, which is how the curse came about. The animals all loved God, and everyone was happy, except for the cat, which is why the cat has been the worst-treated animal out of all the Zodiac. As their spirits live on in you, you feel a pull towards Akito, an obligation to love and serve her forever, and _no-one else."_

Haruhi swallowed. She had known this all along; she had just not been entirely certain. "So the curse is that we are forbidden to love anyone but God? We all have to stay together?"

"That's it. Akito is afraid of being alone, so she wants to surround herself with the only people she thinks will love her, like God."

"But surely she'd want to be loved as more than just God, but as a person?"

"That did happen once. By Tohru. Tohru opened the gap and made amends with Akito as a woman, and not just as God. Things just didn't go as planned, that's all…"

This had gotten Haruhi thinking. The curse was all about bonds, and love. Why did it have to become a curse? When did it become a curse? When the animal spirit vessels, the Zodiacs, realised that they weren't permitted to love anyone else? Akito had said so herself, she was born to be loved. Haruhi _did _love her, but as a Zodiac member. Tohru had loved her as a real person. She had to admit, Tohru was much more amazing that it first appeared.  
>If this was all true… How on Earth were they meant to break the curse, when they hated Akito from the bottom of their hearts? Surely this wasn't the way? There had to be something else, a missing link, something they had overlooked…<p>

Kureno unconsciously brushed a hand over his lower back, and smiled distantly. "It was an eventful few weeks, I can tell you…" he said. "I just wish it could have turned out differently to this. Akito's change in personality wasn't as firm as we all thought."

"Forbidden to love anyone…" Ben mumbled. "That does sound like a horrible curse. All the more reason I want to break it!" He glanced anxiously over at Sora.

"To be able to admit to the ones you care for that you truly love them… I wonder what that's like," Sora mused.

"It's the best feeling… ever," Kyo said quietly. He looked sadly at the young Zodiacs. Kureno met Kyo's eyes, then Yuki's and the three of them left the room.

The strange pull that Haruhi had felt when in Tsuneo's arms… That must have been the curse. What else could it be? Though she wanted him more than anything, the vengeful spirit inside her raged and kicked up a fuss, until the moment she pulled away. _Love Akito only… _It had whispered.

***

"So now, we've got Tohru, Kyo, me, Tsuneo, Sora, Ben and Kureno all living under one roof! It's gonna be eventful," Haruhi mused, trying to lighten the mood, after a few minutes of brooding silence.

"Not fair. At home, Raiden and Haku can be so boring!" Naoko complained. "They always stick together and ignore me."

"Too bad, 'cause we're all having fun here," Haruhi teased.

"I like it with my mum and dad, though. They're really cool. Though, I do wish my dad owned a dojo."

"So…" Tsuneo mumbled. "We're going to break the curse? But how? Kyo did not give us many things to go on."

Sora sighed. "He gave us _nothing _to go on."

"He wants us to figure it out on our own."

"But we can't do that- we're not smart!"

Haruhi sighed. What were they going to do? They had nothing to go on, nothing at all. Kyo had told them everything he knew. Tohru had tried to break the curse before, by having the Zodiacs form a strong connection with her, and she had prepared to accept Akito into her life and love her, but that didn't work. Clearly, love wasn't going to solve anything.

"Hey- was that a knock at the door?"

Haruhi stood up. They didn't usually get random visitors. She ran through the small list in her head of people it could possibly be, and narrowed it down to Machi, Kairi, or Arisa .

She ran through the hallway and quickly opened the door. Still breathless from running, she leaned against the doorway to see Kairi stood in front of her.

"Oh? Hello, Kairi," she said in disbelief. It had been a while. They hadn't spoken since Ben came to live with Kyo and Tohru.

"I just thought I'd pop in and see how my friend is doing," he said pleasantly.


	11. Chapter 11 Rift

**Hello! Chapter 11 now. I loved writing this one… it was pretty dramatic. Anyway, once again I was too lazy to edit it, so I apologise for any typos that severely impair your ability to read it. XD Review please!**

**Chapter 11- Rift  
><strong>  
>Haruhi turned around to see Sora, Ben and Naoko leaning out of the door. Ben looked the most surprised, and the most pleased.<p>

"Hey, Kairi!" Ben said, grinning, and ran out of the doorway to greet him with a hand on the shoulder. "What are you doing here, buddy? I didn't think you knew where these guys lived."

"Is it wrong to want to visit you? I also wished to find out more about your curse."

"Ah- about that, Kairi… We can't really tell you anything about the curse. It's a family secret. If the head of our family found out you knew, we'd get it," Haruhi said evasively.

Kairi looked a little surprised, which was a shocker in itself. Kairi was rarely surprised, and when he was, he got over it fairly quickly. It was one of the more perturbing things about his personality.

"Oh well." He shrugged. "I'm just going to stay for a while."

"You're a little strange, Kairi," Tsuneo commented.

"You're not so normal yourself, Mr. Horse."

"Mr. Horse?"

They allowed the conversation to drift to a natural stopping point, Kairi slipped his shoes off and they went through to the living room in comfortable silence. He peered around himself, taking in everything he could and registering it in his memory bank, like a computer. Haruhi noted that everything he did was very methodical, and he liked to think it was for his own benefit.

"D'you want to play ninja?" Haruhi suggested, for the first time feeling childish for doing so. She felt strange. They were all sat down in a circle, Tsuneo and Ben protectively close to Haruhi and Sora.

"Nah, I'd rather talk," Ben lightly disagreed. "I have to catch up with Kairi, and ask him something."

"Oh, what's that?"

"I'll go make us some drinks," Sora said, a little too enthusiastically. She hopped up from her spot, and seemed to dance out of the room, her feet lightly tapping the floor.

Both Kairi and Ben watched her go, seeming hypnotised for a moment. When Ben saw that Kairi was watching, he shot him a sharp 'warning' glare, serious for once, and went back to his normal playful expression. Haruhi knew what was going on here- Kairi must like Sora too. What a mess.

"How come you haven't been talking to us at school recently?" Ben inquired. "Since I moved in with these guys, you've been all distant and weird. I started to wonder whether something's up, that's all."

"Oh, I just had a lot on my mind lately, that's all," Kairi said, lightly evading the answer.

"You don't have to be like this just 'cause everyone is in the room, you know. It's about time you revealed your true nature."

"True nature?" Haruhi interrupted. This intrigued her. They might have gotten through to Ben, but Kairi was more difficult, it seemed. He was false; that was how he presented himself. The model student, content and private. Private, most of all.

"Yeah, Kairi's actually a nice guy, if you can believe it," Ben joked, patting Kairi on the shoulder. "You know, since we've been friends, he's been a difficult guy to get along with, but you know, once you get to know him, he's actually a great guy to hand out with. He's smart and witty and everything I'm not. I mean, my grades are hopeless and all I can do is think about myself, when he's always looked out for me, right, buddy?"

Haruhi hadn't heard Ben this passionate about anything before. She had always wondered what brought those two together; they seemed like such a mismatched pair.  
>Kairi's face had been growing in hostility since Ben started talking. He shrugged Ben's hand off his shoulder and turned away.<p>

"You need to stop talking," Kairi said, in his content voice, but with his head bent. "I am none of those things. Anyway, where are those drinks of ours?"

Tsuneo's inner translation: Where is Sora?

"She is coming. I can hear her," Tsuneo supplied. Haruhi concentrated, and he was right. She had been so focused on thinking about Kairi that she had become oblivious to everything else.

"I am glad to see they're treating you well, Ben."  
>Kairi stood up abruptly and strode out of the room, much to the confusion of everyone else. He paused just before leaving. "I won't be long. Bathroom."<p>

"Haha, he cracks me up," Ben laughed. "He didn't want me to tell everyone about his _true nature."_

"True nature?" Haruhi said.

"Yeah. He'd like everyone to believe that he's all cool and stuff, but really he's a caring guy. He likes putting on airs."

"Yeah, and he likes Sora, too."

"What?" Ben stopped in his tracks, and his face fell. "Really?" The air in the room seemed to become more dense.

"I saw the way he looked at her. Sorry to say, Ben, but you might have a rival there."

A shadow passed over Ben's face and he bent his head, thinking. Haruhi bit her lip, immediately regretting what she had just said. Maybe she hit a little too close to home. Woops. Tsuneo was clearly aware of this too; he was watching Ben, a flicker of fear in his eyes. He always got tensed up when it looked like someone would lose their temper.

"I see," said Ben. "So that's how it is."

Kairi returned with Sora, seeming to have cooled off. She was carrying a tray of drinks, completely oblivious. Ben looked like he was trying hard to stay in control. Haruhi had never seen Ben even a little bit angry.

"Here!" Sora said happily, handing out drinks to everyone.

Ben switched on a smile. "Thank you!" he said.

Kairi took his drink. "Thank you very much."

They exchanged another dark look. Haruhi mentally slapped her forehead. Could she have been any stupider? There she went, running her mouth again. _Just keep quiet. _She told herself. _Don't make things any more awkward than they already are._

***

*BEN'S VIEW*

Was he going insane? What the heck was wrong with him? He had no clue why knowing Kairi liked Sora too got him so angry. They had been best friends for four years or so… That was long enough for each other to know what the other was thinking, right? He was annoyed because he hadn't noticed this before, and also… He was scared, just in case Sora picked Kairi instead of him. It was a childish fear, but it was real.

"So, you wanna go out into the forest or something?" Haruhi suggested. "It's a nice day."

"That's a good idea," Tsuneo agreed, looking all-too happy to get out into the open space.

Ben thought for a second. His boiling point was at the lowest it had ever been. Maybe it would be good for some fresh air. Maybe he was overreacting. Maybe Haruhi had been wrong.

"Alright, then!" he said, making an attempt to be enthusiastic. He had always been good a hiding his unhappiness. Why should now be any different?

Naoko was the first the go outside, followed by Haruhi and Tsuneo, then Sora, closely shadowed by Ben and Kairi. Ben sighed. Kairi was still his best buddy. He couldn't fight with him over something trivi- No, Sora wasn't trivial, but it was something that friends shouldn't argue over.

But- The way Kairi watched her! Kairi had said he was here to check up on _him. _All his insecurities were bubbling up to the surface, ready to set off in an explosion of jealous anger.

"Hello, Mr Cat!" Sora giggled. "Hello, Mrs Cat, oh, you brought your friends, too!"

At least ten cats surrounded Sora, and she picked one up, grinning. Haruhi slapped her forehead and gave a short laugh.

"The birds seem to be ignoring me, today," she said in mock sorrow. "What's up with them? Not fair."

"I'm glad there are no horses around here," Tsuneo said, relieved. He picked up one of the cats and stroked it gently. "I find cats to be far more amiable."

"Speak in our language," Haruhi joked. Naoko laughed.

"Sorry," he replied, in genuine regret. Haruhi patted him on the shoulder, to show him she didn't mean to sound accusing. Ben sighed. If only he and Sora could have that kind of closeness. He felt very close to her, but did she return those feelings? She was so good-natured to _everyone, _it was difficult to tell.

"I like cats, myself. They are cool and detached, yet somehow they attract attention and affection from human beings. I would rather like to have a cat, in honesty," Kairi said, by means of complimenting Sora. "They remind me of myself, a little."

Ben, who had remained silent for this time, observing, suddenly found himself filled with rage again. He took a deep breath, and then exhaled, clenching his fists. _Seriously, calm down, you idiot. _He told himself sternly.  
>Kairi reach out and stroked the cat in Sora's arms, switching on the smile he reserved only for the people he cared about. It wasn't his usual false expression; it was the smile he gave to Ben. Sora returned this with her characteristically sunny smile, the one that made Ben feel warm and content. Only, this time, it didn't work.<p>

"Oh, stop it!" he burst out. Everyone whipped round to stare at him, but he didn't care right not. He walked over to a tree, and slammed his fist against it, feeling tears prickling in his eyes.

"Ben, what's wrong?" Sora asked nervously. She placed the disappointed cat on the ground and tentatively tried to approach him. Tsuneo started trembling slightly, and he shrunk towards Haruhi, who watched him with concern.

"It's not you, it's _him!" _He pointed to a slightly surprised-looking Kairi. "I can't stand it anymore!"

"I don't understand what you mean, Ben. I haven't seen you this angry in a long time. What's gotten you so riled up?"

"You! You keep fawning over Sora like you own her, you keep giving her that real smile, like you care about her or something- well, I'm tired of it!" He bowed his head, and lowered his voice. "I don't know why, but when I her being so nice to you, and you looking like you love her… It makes me angry."

"All those things you said to me a second ago… They sound like your _own _insecurities, Ben. You're the one smiling at her, and you care about her more than anything. I do, too, but—"

"I knew it!" he said bitterly.

"I haven't finished," Kairi said, utilising his endless supply of patience. "I love Sora, and so do you. Is that really something to argue over? You're thinking this yourself, I can see. But, in no way do I think Sora is mine, not at all. She has the freedom to do what she likes." His voice was even, but Ben could see the flash in his eyes.

"I know, but… Somehow, I can't help it! I wish that I could be more mature, but I can't! Just stay away from her, and from me!"

"Ben," Naoko said. "You should probably stop shouting."

"No-one asked for your opinion!"

"Ben, please!" Sora cried. "Don't fight."

He hastily wiped the tears from his eyes. "Shut up!" he yelled. He didn't care that he was shouting; his voice echoed loudly. He realised he was staring right at her, with rage in his soul. He was saying such terrible things, really terrible, but the words kept coming, like a river, a flood, something he was powerless to stop. "I never asked you to interfere!"

"That wasn't nice, Ben," Kairi said sternly.

"Respond, then! Say something back! Are you going to stick up for yourself, or just take it?! Say something, dammit!"

There was a tense and frightened silence, before Ben removed his hand from the tree he had been leaning against with as much petty violence as he could, and stomped off into the dense forest.

***

It was getting dark. He had been out, tearing through the forest for ages, trying to find a path, only to discover that there _was _no path, and that he was lost. He bitterly and sarcastically congratulated himself. How could he have said those awful things to Sora? He loved her more than anything, yet he had selfishly let the green-eyed monster inside him get the better of his good side.  
>He wondered… What was Sora doing now? He might have made her cry. The thought razed his mind, and he suddenly felt desperate. He had been horrid to Kairi, too, his best buddy. Kairi had seen him through so much, and he had thrown it back in his face.<p>

He heard the distant sound of cars on hard ground. He saw the flashes of street lamps through the gradually thinning foliage. He sighed in relief- a street, at last. This estate was quite big. Bigger than he expected. Whatever. He had to get… Oh no.  
>Home was no longer there. His mother knew nothing about him. His brother was too senseless to know exactly who he was anyway. Home was supposed to be where people were thinking about you, but that place didn't exist. The others were probably furious with him. They didn't care about him anymore.<br>The street lights' flashes were growing brighter, and at last he emerged onto the busy street. People jostled him on the way past, curious as to why a sixteen-year-old boy was stumbling around the street, looking confused, devastated and utterly lost. Since modern society dictated that you should never help a stranger, even if they are a confused, devastated, lost sixteen-year-old boy, no-one cared enough to stop for him.

Suddenly, he had an idea. He could go to the Sohma main house. The head of their, _his _family truly was a terrible person, but as long as he avoided that sadistic maniac, Akito, he could crash there for the night.  
>He didn't care where he was- this town must have signs to the next city, right? He could catch a bus or something.<p>

As a rather run down bus sped down on the opposite side of the street, Ben's heart jumped. If he didn't run across the road now, he'd miss that bus. People were boarding it; he didn't have much time. He had to get the main house now, unless he wanted to spend the night on the street. No-one would want that scenario.

Not thinking about where the cars were, not thinking to look, he bolted across the road. The sounds of the oncoming van were muffled and insignificant, the yells of the people at the curbs just sounded like a senseless din. He whipped his head round, and the metal was closing in on him. The striking flash of the headlights perforated his mind, and before he knew it, the world disappeared. 


	12. Chapter 12 Flashing back

**Chapter 12**

Whew, that was dramatic, wasn't it? Poor Ben! Poor Sora! Poor Kairi! I love writing dramatic chapters, ahah. Right, time for a chapter in Ben's view, including a flashback from Kairi's view! It's pretty dramatic... and tragic, so be warned. He's quite a complicated person underneath it all, so he's interesting to write for XD

Enjoy, review! :)

Slowly, surely, Ben's world came into existence. He woke up, and blinked away the black spots. The light was far too bright. He had been sure, before woke properly, that he was dead. Or paralysed. Or something of the sort. He closed his eyes again and he lay in his own darkness for hours, not thinking of anything in particular, just comforted to be conscious. He tried to lift an arm, but it was as heavy as lead. Suddenly, he became startlingly aware of the intense pain in his head. Sensation flooded into his numb body, and he managed to open his eyes, and sit up, groaning.  
>Each memory crept back into his mind, as if trying to be unnoticed, but he picked up on each one, and slowly pieced the events together. He cringed at each image that floated through.<p>

"Ben! Guys, he's awake!"

He turned one bleary eye to see Haruhi and the others stood at the door, with Kairi at the very front, for once not looking content. Sora looked worried to the core, her brow creased with anxiety. Knowing this was strangely comforting.

"Wh- Oh… Hey," he slurred. The pain relief had made him a little dazed.

"Awesome- you didn't die!" Naoko cheered. Haruhi and Sora laughed.

"I almost did. I really thought I'd died… Sorry, guys." Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at Sora. "Sora, I am so sorry… I said those stupid things to you, and I never meant them. I'll forgive you if you never speak to me again, I'll even be fine if you want me to move out, or even if you wished me dead. Please…"

Sora's eyes filled with tears, and she ran over to the bed. "Oh, Ben… I'm sorry, too. I should share my feelings more, instead of trying to be happy with everyone all the time. It's as much my fault as it is yours. Or course I still want to speak to you."

"Ah, and they reunite!" Naoko sang.

"What a nice scene we have here," Haruhi agreed.

"At least no-one's fighting," Tsuneo said with relief.

"Let's go out and give Kairi some time to talk to Ben. He said he had something important to tell him."

Sora nodded, dried her eyes and followed the others out, leaving Kairi standing sheepishly by the door.

"Sorry," Ben said, feeling stupid.

Kairi took a deep breath, and walked over to the bedside. He sat down in the chair next to it and looked like he was avoiding looking at Ben.

"I apologise, too, for making you so angry. I didn't mean to get you so mad," Kairi said in a low voice.

"It was my fault, buddy. Anyway, what did you wanna tell me? Haruhi said it was something important."

"Oh, it's important. I was going to tell you anyway. It's what I actually came to the house to tell you. But you're going to hate me forever for this. I accepted that, and I'll take whatever hate you have. I know you haven't let your father's murder go to rest. You still feel confused about it. So, I'm going to tell you exactly what happened the night your father was murdered."

Ben's heart constricted. He hadn't thought about his father for a while, but now rage was building up inside him. His father's murderer had never been caught. They were never brought to justice. This had haunted him for years, but how on earth could Kairi know anything about it? They didn't even know each other then. Not properly. To him, Kairi was just some boy in class, the one who scored top on all the tests, who beat him by a mark every time, who seemed to have been groomed for success his entire life.

"I have confession, and you're not going to like it."

"What? What is it?" He felt a little ill.

"I actually knew your father was going to die. I knew who the murderer was. I… I have to tell you the whole story." Kairi looked like he'd rather be anywhere except in this hospital room. He still didn't look Ben in the eye, instead opting to twiddle his thumbs and talk to the wall.

***  
>*KAIRI'S VIEW* (Oooh, a look into Kairi's head for the first time! Just what is he thinking?)<p>

Kairi closed his eyes, and was brought back to the times before he knew Ben, the times when life was relatively normal. It was four years ago…

"I'm home, father," he called meekly, stepping through the front door. The floor was so dirty that there was no point in taking his shoes off. He hung up his coat, put down his bag and stepped into the living room, where the TV was blaring out a random game show, a large and scruffy-looking man slumped on the sofa in front of it.

"Ah, Kairi, you're here… Off to school, then?" the man slurred.

"I just got back, actually, father," Kairi corrected. He pushed the pair of glasses a little further up his nose. "How was your day?"

"Crap. Tora's coming over soon, though, he'll fix things up for me."

"Tora? That is your friend. That one who's a doctor, right? He's coming over to make you feel better."

"Yeah, and maybe I'll be able to stop drinking."

Kairi wanted to believe it, but that would never happen. He had been drinking since Kairi could remember.

His father's best friend was Tora Sohma, a well-respected doctor, who had a son in Kairi's class at school. His son, Benjirou Sohma, was always well-groomed and seemingly emotionless, the total opposite to Kairi, who, despite always being top of the class, looked scruffy in his peeling shoes and faded uniform.

"Tora has had a lot to deal with recently," Kairi commented. "he might not have enough time to deal with you anymore. He has another son, an older one, who is completely crazy."

"That's right, doesn't know a thing about anything, that boy. And his kid brother, Ben, too. Ben might not be nutty but he's still a stupid as they come."

"You're one to talk, dad."

"I suppose I am. Now, get me a beer and some dinner, boy."

"Yeah. I mean, yes, father."

Kairi had always tried to present himself as better that his father; not an alcoholic, whose world revolved solely around the TV and the beer in his hand. His father seemed like and okay guy, but hopeless at everything, and Kairi wanted to look after him and himself, to appear respectable. Though, with his washing skills, it didn't always go that way.

***  
>*The next evening*<p>

"Crap, I'll be really late!" Kairi muttered, running as fast as he could. His questionable appearance had earned him a nice round of detentions, starting with today. But that meant he'd return home much later than usual, and wandering the streets of the town at night was never a good idea for an eleven-year-old boy.

A car pulled up to the curb. A fancy car, the sort of car you saw in movies . It was sleek and black, with a hood ornament and blacked out windows, the very image of wealth. He gazed at it in wonder for a moment, before remembering that he was rushing home to his father. He turned to run away.  
>The door opened, and Kairi gasped. This man must be here to kidnap him! His overly-exaggerating mind took hold, and he considered all the scenarios in his head. He stumbled a little before running off.<p>

"Hey! Kairi!" someone shouted. He stopped dead. "Kairi, it's me, Tora!"

Kairi blinked, and turned around. Tora Sohma was leaning out of the car, waving, gesturing for Kairi to come over to him. He breathed a sigh of relief. At least it wasn't a kidnapper!

"Mr. Tora!" Kairi said, running over. "Are you on your way to see my father?"

"I am. I've got Ben with me, too. Maybe you boys could get to know each other some more. Do you want a ride home?"

"Sure!" he said. He nodded vigorously, all-too glad to be able to get home faster.

A small boy was sat, staring out of the window on the other side of the car. He had russet hair, combed to one side, and he wore a plain shirt with the buttons done up the wrong way. He turned when Kairi entered the car, looking alarmed.

"Daddy, who's this?" he demanded. Kairi blanched. What a prissy posh boy.

"Benjirou, this is Kairi. Remember, the boy from your class at school? He's Takeshi's, my friend's, son. He's a very smart boy," Tora complimented, patting Kairi's shoulder. "He'll be great one day; he has nerve."

"Oh yes. I remember. Hey, Kairi!" Ben said, switching on a smile.

The driver, who had been waiting patiently for a while, finally started the car and drove, leaving the three of them to some conversation, mainly steered by Ben's father, who was all-too ready to compliment Kairi, and degrade his son.

"So, what's your ambition, Kairi? Got anything special in mind?" Tora questioned.

"I… I think I want to have a good job. Like, a surgeon, or a businessman, or both. I don't want to be this scruffy my whole life," he replied, without hesitation.

"Great, my boy! Plenty of ambition, there. Benjirou hasn't a shred, haha!" he joked.

"I know, but I can still be great!" Ben said, a little panic stricken. "Father, I'm not smart enough to be a doctor, but I can still be great!"

"You'll learn. You're only eleven, you'll learn in time that that's not possible, son. Your mother would say the same. She coddles you too much, I can see that."

Kairi felt a little downtrodden. He felt sorry for Ben. His father was a kind man, intelligent and driven, but he didn't believe in his son. He had made Ben believe he was stupid. Ben was eager to please his father, lapping up every ounce of attention he might get. And… That sounded just like him. His father, though hopeless and a slob, didn't know Kairi's true potential, either.

"How's your dad, Kairi?" Tora asked, concerned for once.

"He's okay, as long as he gets his drink."

"Well, we're going to change all that tonight. What do you say, we take it all off him? Give him a good shock. He needs to start getting his life in gear again."

Kairi stepped out of the car when it pulled up outside his house. Tora followed. Tora patted his son on the shoulder, and signalled for the driver to take Ben home. Ben reach out to touch Tora, but was brushed off. He simply nodded, and slumped back into his seat, closing the door.

The next day:

"KAIRI!"

Kairi jumped out of his skin. He came running downstairs to his father, who looked furious, which was a rarity. His father had been growing in agitation for a few hours, and it looked like he had finally exploded.

"Kairi, where did my drink go?! What did you do to it, boy?" his dad shouted. He was actually stood up.

Kairi gasped, remembering what he and Tora had done the previous night. They had thrown out all of his father's alcohol away, in an attempt to make him go 'cold turkey'. Of course, his father knew this at the time, and agreed, but he seemed to have completely forgotten.

"Bu-but father, you know where it is!" Kairi said, his voice steadily rising in pitch as his father grabbed hold of his wrists.

"I don't, else I would be drinking now!" he said. He shook Kairi, who squeezed his eyes shut.

"Father, please, let me go! Let me explain!"

"It was that bastard, Tora, wasn't it?! He told you to get rid of it, didn't he?! That bastard, I'll kill him!"

Kairi squirmed out of his father's grip and ran to the other side of the room. "He's your best friend father, remember! Remember how much he's helped you!"

His father approached him and pinned him to the wall. Kairi could smell the cannabis cigarette smoke on his breath, and he shrunk down. What had gotten into his father? It had been a long time since he had been mad enough to hurt Kairi.

"WHERE IS TORA? WHERE IS HE?!"

"Father, please!"

"I'll KILL him!"

"Dad!"

"Tell me where he is!"

Kairi swallowed. If he didn't talk, then he would certainly get hurt. His dad didn't have it in him to kill anyone, but he could definitely hurt them. Kairi bowed his head. _I'm sorry, Mr. Tora, Benjirou._

"He… He lives on that street, you know, the one next to that big estate, the Sohma estate. He lives at number twelve with his sons and wife. You must remember that."

He felt filthy inside, like a criminal.

His dad grabbed a coat and a shining silver object, which he hid in his jacket, and stormed out of the door, slamming it behind him.  
>Kairi collapsed to the floor.<p>

"What have I done?" he sobbed. "I just sold someone away! My dad's… He's really gonna kill him!"

***  
>Kairi's dad didn't come back. He waited all weekend, but he never saw him.<p>

***

MONDAY

Kairi stumbled into school exhausted, to a different atmosphere. Everyone was talking about something, gossiping. Hushed whispers could be hear everywhere, and the news seemed to be spreading like wildfire. Kairi edged towards one group of safely amiable-looking girls and listened in on their excited conversation.

"Did you hear?"

"What is it, Imi?"

"Benjirou Kyubei, that weedy kid, his father was murdered on Friday night! Stabbed!"

"Yeah, they say that they never caught the one who did it. Ran off probably."

"Should we go over and talk to Ben? He's looking really down. Apparently his mum went mental and started drinking when she heard the news."

"Nah, he kind of acts like he doesn't want anyone near him. A bit like that Kairi kid."

"Totally."

Kairi's heart stopped beating for a moment. Ben was now in something similar his situation. One parent absent, the remaining one alcoholic. Plus, he had a mentally unstable older brother.

He reached a consensus with himself, and walked over to Ben, who was slumped, scruffy-looking, at his desk.

"Benjirou Sohma?" he said tentatively, tapping Ben's shoulder. Ben flinched.

"I miss my dad!" Ben suddenly said, and tears fell down his face.

"Me, too," Kairi replied quietly. "Hey, Ben. Let's be friends, okay?"

"Friends? I've never had one of those, it might be cool!"

He had to do something. He had to redeem himself. He would become exactly what Tora wanted him to be. He'd be cheerful, perfect and brilliant at everything he did. He'd be Ben's friend, because he was the one who had caused Ben's father's death, the one they both looked up to so much.

People would soon become curious over the boys' changes in life over the upcoming months. Kairi would be adorned with a foster family, who expected excellence and paved the road for success, as the saying went, and Ben would change his name from Sohma to Kyubei, and be living a life of uncertainty with an alcoholic parent.  
>Kairi would develop a mask of false flawlessness, pleasant and calm and even. Ben would be stressed and scruffy, like Kairi was, but his happiness was truly genuine. His ability to see the good side of things was something Kairi always wanted.<p>

***

*BEN'S VIEW*

After Kairi had relayed the story, Ben didn't reply. He let the tears roll down his cheeks, while Kairi stared at him, waiting for a response.

"I became friends with you to atone for my sins, Ben. I… I _killed _him. I am the one responsible for making your life hell."

"Kairi…" he muttered. "I just woke up from being hit by a van, and you spring this on me, buddy?"

"Huh?"

"Your dad killed my dad… That's a… Well, that's a big shock. Yeah. Shoot. Definitely. But that doesn't mean it's your fault."

"Ben, you're crying."

"I know, but it's because… I'm just glad you told me, Kairi. You've been the best buddy I could have ever wanted- why would that change now? Yeah, I miss my dad, every day, he was such a cool guy, cold, but cool. I always wanted to know who killed him, and now I know. Just because it was your dad, doesn't mean you're a bad guy! You didn't have to punish yourself all this time, you know."

Somehow, he felt at peace now. He didn't hate Kairi for what he did. Kairi had been scared and driven into a corner, and he had done something stupid, like what Ben did by shouting at Sora and running off into that van.

"You were expecting me to blow my top or something?" Ben said, patting Kairi on the shoulder. His arm smarted with the pain.

"Well, yes. You are rather short-tempered."

"Thanks, buddy."

"By the way, about Sora..."

Ben blinked. Oh. That was what this whole fight had been about. "Yeah, what about her?"

"I love her. I do. But, not in the way you do. I love her because she is so kind to everyone- she reminds me of you, in a way. I love her so much… But, you deserve her more than I do."

Ben felt like a pile of lead had just been lifted of his shoulders. "I have to tell her how I feel."

"You do. Work something out, you big goof."


	13. Chapter 13 An eventful day of returns

**Chapter 13- An eventful day of returns  
><strong>  
>Well, it's back to Haruhi's view, guys! How did you like the two chapter feature on the Ben-Kairi-Sora thing? Dramatic stuff! I hope you enjoyed it. Next, what is Akito planning? Are things looking up for the cursed Sohmas?<p>

It's not edited yet so excuse any errors!

It had been a while. Three weeks. Ben was recovering well, and he'd be out today.

After they found out he had been hit by the van, Sora cried for hours. Kairi cried too, and they got to see, for the first time, Kairi's shell broken. It was quite the eye-opener. Haruhi, although worried sick for Ben, was enthralled by the drama of the whole situation. It made her heart race, and she found herself musing that she was the kind of person who needed some excitement in her life.  
>Tsuneo had been getting closer to her, too. When everyone realised how much Ben loved Sora, it had inspired them to gain some new confidence. It had risen that Naoko actually liked Kairi, and so the two of them had been getting to know each other at her place, with Yuki and the others.<p>

Everyone was looking forward to Ben's return; when Haruhi walked into Sora's room, she was sat on the edge of the bed, looking extremely fretful. Haruhi laughed and perched on the bed beside her; Tsuneo, who was with her, was lingering in the doorway. Sora gulped nervously, like she was terrified for some reason.

"Hey, what's up?" Haruhi asked lightly, slightly amused by Sora's attitude.

"He doesn't like me, I know it," she mumbled.

"Don't be silly, it's because he loves you so much that he said the things he did. They weren't clever, but didn't he say sorry? You made up with each other in the hospital that time." Haruhi's inner self nodded smugly- ever the voice of reason, she was. Well, some of the time. At least.

"Yes, but what if he didn't mean it? I'm scared, Haruhi!"

"You'll be fine. He'll be fine, too. Hell, if you start fighting, I'll be on your side and beat him to pulp!"

"I do not think it will come to that," Tsuneo said quietly. He walked in, and sat on the bed beside Haruhi. He leaned around and looked at Sora with his serene expression.

"Thanks, Tsuneo," Sora said, looking a bit less like she wanted to faint.

Haruhi rolled her eyes affectionately. Trust Tsuneo to bring the mood to this weird neutrality and calmness that he did. He didn't say much, but what he said had so much meaning, unlike her, the big toilet-mouth.  
>She looked up, and saw Tohru stood by the door, with a cheerful grin fixed on her face. Haruhi wondered if Tohru would get more wrinkles than most because she smiled so much.<p>

"Hi, mum," Haruhi said casually. She was beginning to get used to calling her that.

"Hi, Haruhi! I thought you'd all like to know… That Kyo's back! And he's got Ben with him!" she sang.

Sora gasped, and jumped up, promptly tripping over and landing on the floor. Haruhi helped her up, and together with Tsuneo they ran into the hallway. Haruhi had lost count at the number of time now that they had run out into that hallway together, like small children, to greet whoever came in through the door. It had been a long time since Akito had paid a visit.

"Ben!" she cried, and ran to be at his side.

He was stood, supported on one side by a crutch, the other by Kyo, who was smiling slightly. Kyo let go, since it appeared he could stand on his own now.  
>He had a cast on one wrist, and a bandage on one leg, and his face had a plaster or two on it. What an idiot, she thought to herself, running right into a van like that. She laughed internally. Still, he was beaming ear-to-ear, despite having purple circles under his eyes.<p>

"It's great to be back," he grinned, looking drained. Suddenly, he took a stumble, and with Kyo not reacting fast enough to stop him, he toppled straight into Sora.

"Oh no!" she gasped, and with a familiar 'poof', there was a small, dazed and mortified cat sat on a pile of clothing.

"Oh, crap, I'm sorry Sora!" he yelled, trying to heave himself up off the floor. "What do I do?!"

"I'll transform back soon, don't worry," she said weakly, curling her tail. Tohru bent down and gave her a little stroke.

"I'll help you up, Ben," Haruhi offered, holding out her hand. Ben shook his head, smiling.

"Nah, knowing your clumsiness, you'll probably fall into me, too," he joked.

"Hey!"

Soon enough, Sora transformed back.

"Oh hell!" Kyo muttered, and turned his back. Tsuneo flushed scarlet and walked swiftly into the next room, looking embarrassed. Ben, powerless to move, sat where he was, looking mollified with himself.

"I feel like a pervert!" he cried. "Someone help me up!"

Sora pulled some clothes on, blushing. "You didn't see, did you?"

"Nope, not a thing!" He clamped his hand over his mouth. "Oh, but that sounds rude. Wh-what do I say?!"

"It's okay," she laughed.

"You can come back in now, idiots!" Haruhi called to Kyo and Tsuneo, who strode back into the hall, avoiding everyone's amused gaze. Tsuneo cleared his throat awkwardly, and held out a hand to help Ben up.

"Thanks, man," he said gratefully. "By the way, that time… Sorry I scared you by losing my temper. It was stupid."

"It's fine, I… It just reminds me of- things, you know. Anyway, don't worry about it."

Haruhi noted that Tsuneo had become far more relaxed in his speech now. Making progress, as always.

"By the way," Ben said, "Did Kureno head home? I thought he was staying here."

"He made up with Arisa and went back to live with her and Raiden. From what I've heard, things are going pretty well. Naoko visits theirs a lot," Haruhi explained, winking at the end.

"Speaking of visitors," Tohru added in, "We have a guest coming round today! We're really lucky to get to see them- I can't wait!"

Guest? Another guest? This dojo seemed to be mecca for odd visitors. They'd Akito, Kureno, Yuki Ben and Naoko show up at the door requiring refuge, yet not once had they ever had a visit from, say, a postman. It was getting a little wearing.

"Who?" Tsuneo asked, jumping at the chance to plan, mentally, in advance.

Kyo faced Tsuneo and put his hand on his shoulder. Tsuneo looked tense for a moment, and then relaxed. "We don't know why… But Akito's behaviour has changed. There's been a shift in her behaviour."

Sora swallowed. "What does that mean? Is it something we should be afraid of?"

"Probably not. Akito has permitted the older members of the Zodiac to move freely- that is, they must live in the grounds of the main house, but they can leave to visit the outside world at will."

"WHAT?!"

Everyone was astounded. Haruhi could never have imagined such a change in Aktio's behaviour! What had happened to make her be this lenient? When had Kyo and Tohru heard this?

"As such, we now have some complicated sleeping arrangements throughout the family.  
>Haruhi, Sora, Tsuneo and Ben are under this roof permanently, but you must visit Akito often- it's a rule, and you know that you have to obey it. Yuki and Machi <em>did <em>house their daughter Naoko, along with Raiden and Haku, but that has changed.  
>Naoko is still living with them, but they are moving to a house closer to us, that is also closer to the main house, under Akito's orders. Also, Haku has gone to live on the main estate with his father and mother- Haru and Rin Sohma. Kureno, Arisa and Raiden have also returned to the main estate as a family. That's <em>nearly <em>all of it."

Tohru cut in, not letting them have time to take all this in. "Kureno's family, Haru's family, Yuki's family and Kyo's family house you younger generation Zodiacs. Sadly, really sadly, we have to forget about the Sohmas who lost their memories, whom me and Kyo miss and love dearly, but the older Zodiacs who are with Akito will be coming to visit us occasionally!"

"So…" Haruhi said slowly, making an effort to control her breathing, "Yuki's family and Kyo's are all living outside?"

"Yes."

"And Raiden and Haku have gone to live with their families inside?"

"Yep."

"And the Zodiac grown-ups are now going to visit us sometimes?"

"That's the jist of it!"

"So… What about Sora's family? Don't they want her back?"

Sora gulped. "Ah- well- you see Haruhi… My dad, well, he's still cursed. He's the snake, you see… Well, Kyo told me he phoned the other day, asking for me to wait a bit. He's gone out of this region for a bit, because of the cold weather here and he might transform, so…"

"Right! Okay…" Haruhi was confused, attempting to wend her way around this new snippet of information. "Anyway, who's our visitor?"

"Ah- They're in the other room, but…" Tohru looked a little hesitant. "Tsuneo is probably who they want to see the most…"

"Why's that?" She felt a little miffed that she wasn't the first, but that couldn't be helped.

Tsuneo looked from person to person, before realising Tohru was serious and that he had to go in on his own. Well, he thought, I need to be someone who doesn't need Haruhi's support throughout life. I'll be the one to protect her, and to do that, I'll need to get stronger than this.  
>With slightly heavy breathing, he left the room.<p>

***

The mine in Haruhi's mind was about to explode. Who the hell were these guests, and why were they so important to Tsuneo? She wished she were smarter so she could figure it out. Tsuneo had looked like he was about to march into combat, the expression of forced determination chalked on his face. She worried about him.

"Haruhi, I'm sure he'll be fine. It's a Zodiac member, right? They must be wanting to talk to him," Sora said encouragingly. Haruhi shot her a look or irritation. "Tsuneo is getting stronger every day, thanks to you. He'll be fine!"

"I hope so. He looked terrified."

Ben patted her on the shoulder. "Sora's right!" he grinned. "Besides, we'll get to meet them later to see what the fuss was about. They've been in there a while now, so they're bound to come out pretty soon. Just be patient."

"But!"

"Haruhi."

"Sorry."

She couldn't help it. The agitation boiled inside her. She paced to one end of the room and back, disregarding Sora's fascinated expression and Ben's amused smirk; their knowing faces were following her wherever she went. Haruhi also had a strange feeling inside her soul, that odd pull she got whenever in close proximity to a Zodiac member. The hell of not being in the know tormented her. Just when she couldn't take it any more…

The door slid open, and Tsuneo stepped in, followed by a man Haruhi recognised immediately, for some reason. Something clicked inside of her. He looked brusque, with odd, beige-y brown coloured hair, and a small, crooked smile on his face. He was wearing a dark green kimono, the colour she used to wear, the colour they all wore. He gave Tsuneo a small poke in the back.

"Introduce me, then," he said, nodding. Haruhi stared at him, frustrated. What was his name again?

"Um…" Tsuneo said shyly, with a small smile. "Ah, everyone, this would be the sheep of the Zodiac, my father- Hiro Sohma."

Sora's mouth gaped open. "Ehhh?!" she cried. Ben stared at her, and then at Hiro and Tsuneo, comparing the two.

"What? Hiro's your dad?" Haruhi gasped. "I recognise Hiro- I saw him the night I was freed!"

Hiro was the tired, solemn-looking man, the one they had to leave behind at the main house. Yuki and Kyo knew him well. He had asked if they could tell Kisa he loved her, but Yuki had refused, knowing they couldn't. Haruhi felt a pang of emotion inside her body. Had he seen Kisa yet?  
>She could tell where Tsuneo got his rather solemn appearance from, after moment of comparing their faces. Yes, there was a similarity! Only, Tsuneo had a gentler expression.<p>

"Ah- I remember you," Hiro said, smiling. "You've changed a lot."

"Huh, how?"

"You look more complete." He saw Haruhi's questioning expression. "Your face has more conviction, more assurance. But, you still look as gormless as you did on that night."

Haruhi's mood dropped.

"Gormless?! How dare you!" she said, taken aback. "Just because you're someone's dad, doesn't mean you can insult me like that!"

Hiro nodded knowledgeably. "Yeah, just like Kyo, you are."

"What? That was just a test?"

"No, I meant it."

"Unbelievable!"

Sora laughed. "Haruhi, don't get on bad terms with Tsuneo's dad already," she said.

"So, who are these?" Hiro asked Tsuneo, who looked slightly strained.

"Ah, this is Sora, the cat. She is kind and fair, like a miniature Tohru, and Ben, who came to live with us a while ago. He is also a Sohma, and is childish and cheerful."

"Thanks!" Ben grinned.

"I see," Hiro nodded, still getting used to his son's particular manner of speaking.

"And Haruhi is… Haruhi," he said, smiling at her. She wanted to smile back, but was acutely aware of everyone's amused gaze upon her. His eyes lingered on her face for a few moments, and he snapped back into reality.

There was a short silence, allowing for everyone to process the momentous occurrences of the past hours or so.

"Aw, Tsuneo's getting embarrassed," Ben cooed suddenly.

It was true. Tsuneo had flushed crimson, and he was facing away from everyone. The appearance of Tsuneo's father seemed to have shaken him up a little. Whereas change excited Haruhi and she welcomed it, any small alteration overloaded Tsuneo's system, and caused him to become insecure. He was clearly very happy, but didn't look like he desired everyone's attention.

"You okay, Tsuneo?" she asked pointedly. Actually, he didn't look like he was blushing; it was an odd shade, like he had a fever or something. Her eyes narrowed in concern.

He cleared his throat, paused, and looked at her face for a moment. He smiled, looking like he was making an effort to do so.

"I'm fine," he said, nodding. "I- It's just a lot to take in, is all."

"Are you sure?"

A small bead of sweat ran down the side of his face. Yes, he was smiling at her, but his breathing was uneven, and he looked a little weak. Was he ill?

"I think so?" he guessed. He brushed the back of his hand over his forehead, and swallowed hard. "Actually, I feel a bit faint."

Hiro looked at him sharply. "Tsuneo, are you alright?"

Blackness seemed to rush over him, and he slid to the ground in a dead faint.

"Tsuneo! Wake up!" Haruhi cried. He was sprawled on the floor, his eyes squeezed shut, like he was attempting to fight something with all his might.

They soon found out what this was, when, in a sudden puff of smoke, Tsuneo transformed. That was it, that was what he was fighting. Haruhi could imagine how difficult it was to resist a transformation.

"Ah!" Haruhi cried. "He must be really sick!"

His horse form was that of a creamy coloured stallion with a straggly, straw coloured mane and tail. He had a blaze on his face, and small white socks. Haruhi would have found the sight of this form for the first time to be quite adorable if she hadn't been flustered half to death over what just happened.  
>His stallion form filled half the room. The horse opened one bleary eye and whinnied quietly.<p>

"Aw man," she groaned. "He has a fever! How did that happen?"

"Must have been too much for his system. The stress, I mean," Hiro suggested.

"Maybe," Ben said vaguely, "But we can't know for sure. Not until he transforms back."

Sora bit her lip. "I hope he's okay."

Haruhi almost fainted herself. She was knelt beside Tsuneo, wondering why the hell no-one else seemed to be as worried.  
>"He needs medicine, quick!" she yelled.<p>

"We can't take him to the doctors like this!" Sora said. "What if he keeps transforming back and forth? We'd have some explaining to do."

"I know a bit about medicine, but we'll have to wait until he transforms back till I can see what's up," Ben said, serious. He seemed to be remembering something, appearing distant for just a few seconds.

***

Haruhi admitted- seeing Tsuneo's horse form for the first time was amazing. He was good-looking even in his Zodiac state! She wondered who would win in an animal fight between them. Probably her. She had wings.

Once she had gotten over the shock, they were able to lie him down under a huge blanket that Sora dug out from the cupboard, and they waited out the time before he reverted back to human state. A small packet of medicine lay opened beside his head, next to a flannel. Ben sat guardedly near him, appearing to know an awful lot about what to do. He was the one who had remained the calmest, even calmer that Hiro, Tsuneo's father. How did he know so much? She'd ask him later. Sora was sat next to Ben, and her hand was on the floor, fidgeting, seeming to want to get close to Ben's.

It was a painstaking few minutes, but sure enough, a familiar 'poof' was heard, and Tsuneo was lying, in shock, underneath the covers. He opened his eyes, and sat bolt upright, all traces of fever washed away from his body. He rubbed his eyes, his head humming.

"I can't believe it…" he sighed.

"What?" Haruhi said excitedly, happy to see him awake.

"You saw my Zodiac form… It's embarrassing. Also, you had to be in a position to be of support to me. That, too, is rather disappointing."

"I have an intelligent son," Hiro said proudly, off subject.

"I thought your Zodiac form was pretty cute!" Haruhi grinned. "I love horses."

He laughed softly. "Thanks."

"Anyway," Hiro said, determined to steer the conversation _his _way, "Why did you pass out? Was it because I'm here?"

"Yeah… It just got a little too much for me. That's also humiliating. I was trying so hard to be stronger."

"Stop dwelling on this!" Sora laughed.

"I wanted to ask you something, Tsuneo," Hiro said sombrely. "It pertains to my visit here today. I didn't come here simply to visit you, because you are my son. Akito gave me an order, and I had to carry it out."

"What is that?"

"Akito wanted me to ask if you would come and live with me at the main house. I can understand if you don't want to, and Akito actually said it's fine if you don't, but you're my son and I'd like some father-son quality time together."

Tsuneo sat up, looking at a loss for what do say or do. He stammered incoherently for a while, before falling silent, staring at the floor.

"Will you, then?" Haruhi asked sharply. With embarrassment, she could feel her lower jaw trembling with the effort of holding back the tears. "Leave m- us?"

Tsuneo didn't reply. Instead, he moved his head up, and looked painfully into her eyes.  
>The atmosphere suddenly became quite tense. Haruhi stood up, a shadow passing over her face, and left the room, slamming the door behind her, tears threatening to escape and roll down her cheeks.<p>

Whilst she was stood outside the door, Hiro opened it in its weakened state and paused for a moment. He gave Haruhi a small nod, and walked briskly down the corridor.

"You aren't as gormless as you look, then," Hiro said, not looking at her. "Look after Tsuneo." He stopped walking.

"Isn't he going with you?"

"What do you think?"

"Ah, no?"

"Exactly. I want to get to know him, as my son, but Akito only told me to ask. If I love him, I'll let him do what his heart tells him to do, and if it means staying here, then that's how it is."

Haruhi remembered something. "Uh, Hiro? Who exactly is Kisa?"

Hiro's jaw hardened. "She was gentle, beautiful, and my love. She was Tsuneo's mother. When Tsuneo was taken from us, her memories were erased. I have no idea where she is, now. She hasn't got a clue who I am, either." Tears prickled in his eyes, and Haruhi almost felt the need to look away.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's okay, I'll find her one day."

He turned, and strode briskly out the front door.


	14. Chapter 14 Operation:Double Date!

**Chapter 14- Operation: Double date!  
><strong>  
>I thought I'd add in a lovely chapter here, since the last few have been pretty eventful! Enjoy!<p>

The cool air swirled around the dojo in a gentle wind, rustling the tree leaves, and small beams of sunlight could be seen streaming through tiny gaps in the light grey clouds. All in all, Haruhi thought, a decent morning, perfectly calm and tranquil. Something needed to happen though, or she'd lose her mind. It had been weeks of tedious language lessons, queuing in the canteen for tiny portions of food, and helping Ben up and down the school's stahy7irs without transforming. The same routine, every day.

"Did you know, it's Valentine's day soon!" Tohru chirped at the breakfast table.

"I've heard about that! The day when girls all over the world can confess their love, and go out on dates with their valentines," Sora gushed excitedly, "And the best part about it is chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!"

"Huh?" Haruhi was only half-listening. Consuming her breakfast seemed far more important at this point in time. She had never actually had chocolate, despite Ben's constant tempting of chocolate cake in the canteen at school. Sora had indulged, and now she was hooked. Haruhi couldn't really understand what was so great about it, but then, she'd never tried it. Oh well, there was a first time for everything.

"I remember the first Valentine's day Kyo and I shared," Tohru mused, "He hated chocolate so much, he turned away all the chocolate that were given to him and tried to throw them away!"

Sora giggled. "Did you give him any chocolate? How old were you?"

"We were sixteen, and I did give him chocolate. Amazingly, he took the chocolate I gave him, and the chocolate that another gave him, and ate it, right in front of us. He looked so serious, like he had to eat poison!"

Haruhi snorted into her breakfast. Tsuneo, who had remained almost unnoticeable until now, gave a small laugh. Kyo seemed like such a proud person.

"What a story! I'll bet dad hasn't forgotten that," Haruhi said. "Did you go on a date, too?" Now, she was interested.

Tohru seemed to be thinking about something funny again. "Well, I actually went on a date with Yuki."

"WHAT?!" Haruhi was outraged. "You went on a date with Yuki? Why?"

"Kyo had his own admirer. Her name is Kagura, she is the boar of the Zodiac and she lives in the main house! She used to love Kyo a lot, so much that she wanted to marry him, even if she killed him in the process. So, I went with Yuki, and Kyo with Kagura, and we all went on a double date to the cinema! It was a great day."

Valentine's day… Okay, hearing about Tohru's double date was hilarious, but the whole notion just only seemed appropriate for the type of girl that loved chocolate and giggled at everything. But actually, Sora was that type of person sometimes. She seemed like it right now.  
>Haruhi suddenly hit on an idea- it would be great if she could set Sora and Ben up on a date together. It might finally give Ben the shove he'd been needing. Everyone knew it now anyway; there was no need to hide it anymore.<p>

"Hey," Sora said, just as Haruhi was about to speak. "For Valentine's day, we should all go on a double date, too!"

Tsuneo choked on his breakfast. Ben cried out: "WHA-?" The whole room descended into a state of general panic.

Haruhi put her hand on Sora's shoulder. "Sora," she began pleasantly, "You have just gained yourself one new enemy."

"What?"

"If we do that… Something bad could happen."

The prospect of going on a date with Tsuneo! It almost made her faint with nervousness. Since the time at the hot springs, it was true, something had shifted between them that made them more than friends. However, if Akito ever found out… Well, she had heard of the terrible things Akito had done to the older Zodiacs because of their 'forbidden' love. It was something she wouldn't dream of putting Tsuneo through. What if he lost an eye? What if Akito slapped him, or locked him up, and what if Akito confined them all again? All the possibilities ran circles around her mind, not letting her think clearly, rushing around in a blur of panic.  
>Tsuneo shifted a little closer to her, and leaned round to meet her eyes.<p>

"It's okay," he said quietly, but with conviction. "A double date sounds like a good idea. It isn't like you to be worried like this."

"I know." She flapped her hands, struggling to find the words. "But- if- Akito hurts-! She might freak out like she did with the older ones."

"Akito needs to accept this!" Sora piped up. "Don't worry, Haruhi! It'll be fine."

"Plus, spending the day with your friends is a good thing!" Ben joined in.

"If Akito finds out and hurts any of you once, I'll strike back a thousand times. On that condition, I'll go," Haruhi said. She nodded with vigour, to prove how serious she was.

Sora shook her head, like she was shaking off this unpleasant turn in conversation. "Well, where shall we go?" she asked lightly.

"The beach," Haruhi said immediately. Everyone turned to stare at her. She flushed crimson and bit her lip. "What?" she demanded. Sora giggled. "I just think the beach would be cool, that's all!"

"More than cool." Tsuneo shuddered. "It's mid-February."

The cool breeze of the morning had escalated into what could be described as gale force wind. Menacingly grey clouds hung in the sky, moving slowly, threatening to pour rain on them at any time, causing Sora to glance up at it nervously every so often. She was already feeling quite groggy. The beach was entirely empty, the soggy sand lying completely untouched, the shore being lapped with the waves, which were growing in height and power. All in all, a perfect spot for a date.

Sora shuddered uncontrollably, tucked up inside her thick coat and scarf. She breathed on her hands and rubbed them together. It was so cold, they could actually see their breath.

"Wh-wh-who's idea w-was this?" she chattered. Ben looked at her in concern.

Haruhi cleared her throat loudly. "Whoever it was, they were sure an idiot."

"But that's you," Tsuneo said, confused.

"Shhh!"

"We could go in the beach hut, of course!" Sora burst out. "The Sohma own one here!"

"How did you know that?"

"Never mind how I know, let's go! It's this way!"

Haruhi had to admit, they were amazingly fortunate. As they bolted across the sand to the beach hut, the wind grew in intensity, and the beach started being dotted with the beginnings of a downpour. Sora shouted, and pointed to the grandest-looking hut there. It was wider than all others in the row, and it had a porch. It was well-kept, even in this wintry month, and there were several steps leading up to the blue front doors.  
>Tsuneo offered Haruhi his hand to help her up the steps in the wind, but unfortunately was nearly knocked over by the wind himself. He cleared his throat in embarrassment, and they made their way inside. Ladies first, of course. Tsuneo's firm grounding in being a gentleman was one of his endearing traits.<p>

Just as they slammed the door behind them, the heavens opened.

"Thank goodness!" Sora gasped. Her ginger hair was entertainingly windswept, in a tangle, some bits hanging over her face. She brushed it away, and sneezed twice.

"Sorry for bringing you guys here," Haruhi said miserably.

"We get to spend the day with super-cute girls, what's there to be sorry about?" Ben said, entirely severe. Haruhi slapped her forehead.

The inside of the beach hut was cosy, despite actually being rather large. A sofa big enough for four was against the right-hand wall; the fabric on it was gloriously red, and it looked so comfortable that she had the sudden urge to leapt onto it and sleep! Amazingly, there was a flat screen TV, and a shelf full of movies beside it, all dust free and ready to be used. Actually, they practically begged to be used in this particular scenario.

"Look at that TV!" Ben exclaimed. "This Sohma family sure comes from some serious money."

"Um, Ben, you are a Sohma," Tsuneo pointed out.

Ben sighed. "Man, I know that. I was just sayin'."

Sora seemed to be dying to say something. She bit her lip and glanced anxiously from person to object, shuffling her feet and wringing her hands. Haruhi cleared her throat loudly. Sora gave her a mortified look in return, as if to say 'Thanks a lot!'

"We could watch a movie," she said shyly, glancing at the sofa facing the TV.

"That's fine," Tsuneo said, by a means of saying 'that's great', rather than the more modern meaning of 'That's so-so'. Well, everyone knew his odd manner of speaking.

The four of them eyed the shelf, before Haruhi pointedly walked over to the shelf. "What sort of things does everyone like? I like anime movies! And ninja stuff, too. Don't know about you guys, though."

"Of course you would," Tsuneo said wryly. He paused in thought. "I don't really know what I like. The books I read are on every topic. I'm simply happy to know about anything."

"Ah, but these films wouldn't be factual!" Sora reminded him, pointing her finger.

"Then I'm afraid I don't know."

Ben jumped up. "Oh, oh, I like the old ancient stories about mysterious treasures, and undiscovered lands. Wouldn't it be cool to hear about amazing discoveries and stuff? Hearing about strange tales from the past, and stuff about saving the world- that's what I like."

"You sound like you've seen loads of movies."

"Well, yeah, I used to have a whole library of them, back in the days before… Well, before stuff happened."

There was an awkward pause. Of course, the murder of his father…

"I like romantic comedies, and funny films. The ones that make you laugh are the best," Sora said dreamily. Haruhi mimed vomiting, to the amusement of Tsuneo and Ben.

"How the hell are we meant to choose from that?! Tsuneo doesn't know, I like ninjas, Ben likes saving the world, and Sora likes cheesy, romantic, funny stuff. But there's gotta be something that suits us all!"

Tsuneo had been sorting through the pile of movies all this time, picking some up, considering them, and placing them carefully back in the pile. He continued this process like a robot for quite some time, until extracting a movie that looked suspiciously like an anime. It was covered in dust, and compared to everything else in this extremely up-to-date beach hut, looked very old.

"This one is called 'Mogeta'. It is anime, it's got adventure, and it has funny moments too. I think it would suit everyone's pallet, so it would be a good choice," summarised Tsuneo. He held up the anime for everyone to see, and dusted off the cover.

"It looks ancient," Ben commented.

"Let's watch it anyway," Haruhi said, holding back her sniggers. "Not really my taste of anime, but we can still have fun watching it!"

The rain battered relentlessly against the sturdy roof of the beach hut, making her feel very warm and protected inside in the dry, and grateful that she was not out in it. Thank goodness. Although this date was not what she had envisioned, she had got to see the beach, at least. This would be so much better- sitting beside Tsuneo.  
>That was partially the problem, however! Since none of them knew whether to come out and say they were couples, or to continue skirting around the edges of intimacy, nobody knew how they should act around each other. Who knew what would happen during this movie!<p>

"This really is crap," Haruhi whispered.

They were sat side-by-side on the sofa in the now dark beach hut, and she was eyeing the playing movie with distaste. The rain had completely stopped, but Haruhi assumed it was only she who had actually noticed. Ben was holding Sora's hands in his, and she was more concentrated on staring into his eyes than on the movie. Haruhi nodded. They were definitely meant for each other. She shuffled closer to him, and Haruhi felt that this little moment was so private that she should look away.  
>Tsuneo was staring ahead, not at the film but straight through it, deep in thought. This disappointed Haruhi a little, but she didn't want to say anything. His mind was completely inaccessible.<br>Ben suddenly withdrew his hands, and shifted to face the front. He looked around at everyone, and looked like he was finding the words to say something important.

"I-!" he began, and then stopped.

Tsuneo blinked. "What is it?" he asked.

"I think we should just- stop sneaking around like this! If Akito doesn't like it, she can go away!"

Sora gasped. "But Ben- You may be able to say that to Akito, but we can't! We have to follow her orders, whether we like it or not!"

"You love me, don't you? I love you, more than anything!"

"I do, I love you very much, but I just don't want you to get hurt. You weren't in our world. In the old days, if members of the Zodiac fell in love, it always was followed by some sort of disaster! Hatori's eye, Kisa's injuries, Rin's injuries, Kana's memories… all gone!"

Ben was tense with worry. He got up, and pointed to the door. "Please, can I talk to you outside?" He asked. He took her hand.

"Um, okay," she said shyly, and followed him to the door. "I want to say what I think, too."

"We can work this out," he agreed. "I need to know something from you, something really important. 'Cause, if I don't know, I think I'll explode from the tension of not knowing. Geez, I'm not making any sense. Let's go."

They slipped out the door, and closed it quietly behind them, leaving Haruhi and Tsuneo, neither of whom were exactly experienced in this kind of situation. Haruhi did have to concede that Tsuneo had better instincts than she did- her mind was all calamity, and his was as clear as a bell. If her mind was a muddy puddle, his was a glistening, clear lake.

"I don't know what to do," Tsuneo whispered, for the first time looked truly scared. "The worst thing that could ever happen would be for you to get hurt, and it being my responsibility."

"You said you wanted to be the sort of person who didn't need my help, right? Then stop looking so worried! Be the sort of person you want to be," Haruhi said. She tried her best to act comforting. In all honesty, she was scared too. They all were. The emotional scars left on them by Akito would take a long time to heal.

"I'm still healing," he softly said in protest, as if he were answering her thoughts.

"Nearly finished, I reckon. But… Ben might be right. And it also might be a clue to breaking the curse. If we can get Akito to accept this, then maybe-!" He gave her a questioning look. "I… Okay, I've never actually said it aloud, but I love you. This will work out."

"I don't understand."

"We'll try," she pressed on.

"But you don't even believe in this yourself."

"I want to, with all my heart!"

"We will cling onto any source of hope, even if it as small as a needle head. I will never let you get hurt, anyway."

"You put thing in such a poetic language."

Then they were both silent. She watched the quietly playing movie on the TV, for so long that it seemed like there were no things moving around inside the screen; it was almost like some weird dream. She was barely aware of the time moving by, leaving them suspended in limbo. She didn't know how long they sat without moving- it felt like time was erratic now- speeding up and slowing down at all the wrong moments. Only, this little moment here was perfect. More perfect than she could have imagined.

"I… I don't know how to be close to someone," he admitted, out of the blue.

"You're very good at it, a natural. You gave me my first embrace, and after you picked me up in the woods… you…"

"No, not like that. When… back in the main house… I was Akito's very favourite. She kept me almost as isolated as Sora, in her room. I was never allowed to leave." He looked like he was in pain. "I was always watched, by her or by a maid. Akito slept by me and told me not to leave her, ever. It was awful. After that… It made me wonder what it was like to be truly close to someone."

Haruhi blinked. He had never gone into details about his endurances at the main house. This part of his life seemed off-limits, uncharted territory. Clearly, being close to her brought up some deep-rooted troubles. Akito's favourite… Haruhi cringed internally at how complicated that made things inside his mind.

"It feels like this," she replied simply. Her blood raced in response, as if to back up her statement. She internally slapped herself. That sounded like a line from a movie!

"I wonder…"

He leaned in, warning her with his eyes, and laid the side of his face to rest at the top of her chest. Her heart hammered away, and he smiled slightly, listening. It made her feel self-conscious, but Tsuneo didn't seem to care. He listened to her heartbeat.

"Ah…"

"Like I said, you're a natural. There's no need to be worried," she breathed. Now, they were declaring their feelings for one another, entirely, in the right words. This was different from the hot springs.

She listened to the sound of his breathing, even, soothed, an achievement in these circumstances. He was able to return to a seemingly calm state in these circumstances… Haruhi was envious. She willed her hammering heart to slow down.

"I like the sound of your heart, even when it is beating this fast," he said lightly, closing his eyes.

"Thanks," she said awkwardly. "See? You're so much better at being all lovely than I am. I don't what there is to love about me. I'm all shouting and tactless and clumsy."

"And I'm clueless, cowardly and soft. But you don't seem to mind that part."

"But…"

This was unusually determined for Tsuneo now. As soon as he believed he had gotten permission and reassurance from Haruhi, all nerves within him evaporated.  
>The part of him he was describing had all but disappeared. The parts Haruhi hated about herself remained. Akito might have been right- she was naïve and ignorant.<br>He lifted his head, and drew it to face her directly. With deliberate slowness, he put his hand behind her back and pulled her closer to him, until she was curled up against his chest, listening to his heartbeat in return. He moved his hands till they were around her waist, and rested his head on hers.

"Those parts do not even matter to me. This is enough," he murmured. He kissed the top of her head, and she moved her head up in response, a little surprised.

"I just wanted to try something," she muttered shyly, after some deliberation.

"I was thinking the same thing. If you don't want to, it's fine."

"No, it's not."

He laughed, and she heard the low rumble in his chest. Instinctively, she reached out to touch his face, but her hands dropped softly to her lap. Instead, he took his face in hers.

"I'll never be able to completely find my way inside your head," he commented. "It might take forever."

"That was a pointless comment."

"I didn't think so."

He kissed each of her eyelids, and each corner of her mouth, before pressing his lips gently to hers. They lingered there for a moment that Haruhi wished for forever, and he drew back. Haruhi raised her eyebrows, and leant back in.

"Hey! Let us in!"

Haruhi soon became aware of frantic knocking on the beach hut door.

"Ben?" she guessed.

"Yeah, it's raining, let us in! Sora's not feeling too good- you know how she gets in this weather!"

She heaved herself up from the sofa and opened the door. She sniffed the air near Ben for a moment, realising something.

"Is that Sora's perfume?" she asked pointedly. Definitely. Only Sora would choose that bottled strawberry stuff.

He flushed. "We talked things over."

Tsuneo cleared his throat. "So did we."

Everyone glanced at each other as if to say '_really?'_

As the strolled along in the dark together, later that night, Haruhi felt the blood still rushing to her cheeks. She felt strangely smug, like she had accomplished something amazing. Well, she had.  
>Waiting for the taxi home was a tedious task, and they all waited silently.<p>

Suddenly, Tsuneo spoke.

"Screw Akito."

General astonishment ensued, and, at the same time, they all laughed.

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading! Thank you to everyone reviewing regularly, and to the one-timers who really help! It only takes a second and is greatly appreciated. Bye guys, see you next time!<p> 


	15. Chapter 15 A return to God

Well hi! Sorry for the big gap between updating, but schoolwork calls. I had to write three essays last weekend! -_- Anyways, I'm back and so is Haruhi and her gang (^_^) Enjoy the next chapter. By the way, things are going to be getting serious with some 'family' issues from now on. Plot climax approaches, people…

**Chapter 15: A return to God**

So, they had gone away as sort-of couples, and have returned as actual couples. All in all, Haruhi had to hand it to Sora; the whole double date thing was her idea. As horrified as she was in the beginning, she now felt a small twinge of guilt for chastising Sora for the suggestion.  
>As Sora's amber head rested on Ben's shoulder, Haruhi, for some reason, felt a strange smugness welling up inside her. She wanted desperately to cry from the rooftops that she <em>knew <em>Sora and Ben were meant for each other, right from the start! She glanced down at her hand, which was clasped firmly around Tsuneo's, and realised that she felt entirely contented with this. Tsuneo noticed her beaming and squeezed her fingers, smiling back. It felt like this blissful ether of happiness couldn't be ruined.  
>The taxi pulled up outside the dojo.<p>

"Is this it?" the driver asked for clarification. "I haven't been this far into the middle of nowhere in a while."

"Yeah," Ben nodded. "The dojo's a great place to live, if you don't mind not being within walking distance of… well, anything."

Haruhi handed the taxi driver the fare, and they climbed out into the darkness. The dojo was barely visible- the only clue they were there was the dim light of the lamp, providing a glow to see a small area of the decorated gates.

"Oh, I'm so tired!" Haruhi said, and she yawned as if to prove her point. "It's the middle of the night; I should be asleep."

Tsuneo glanced at her in slight concern. "If we don't get some sleep soon, we might get weak and transform." He nodded. "Especially Sora. It was raining earlier. She must be quite exhausted."

"Really?" asked Ben, intrigued.

"Didn't you know?" Haruhi stared at Ben. She remembered that they had forgotten to mention it to him. "Sora always gets tired when the weather's bad like this."

Ben clapped his hands together. Haruhi smirked as she imagined that, if this was an anime, there might be a flashing light bulb suspended above his head.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "So that's why she…" He trailed off, and looked sideways at Sora, whose face flooded with crimson embarrassment.

"What now?"

"It was nothing. Forget it."

"What happened?"

"Fine," Ben snapped, blushing himself. "If you must know, after we kissed, she fainted on me and transformed. She was knocked out when she changed back, and I didn't know what to do, so I sort of, put her clothes back on, and, well I tried my best, honest!"

There was a pause, and then Haruhi burst into gales of laughter. Tsuneo couldn't help himself, and he stifled a chuckle.

Ben cleared his throat. "So, what's all this about you transforming then? You don't have a weather excuse."

"In the main house, I used to have an unusual sleeping pattern, all broken up and irregular. Time flows differently when you are confined. Because of that, I couldn't tell what was night and what was day, or when to sleep, so sometimes I would become so tired that I transformed," Tsuneo explained. "I don't know how it was for the others. Maybe it happened to Sora, too. She was the only other one who didn't have windows."

"Windows? What, you mean you didn't ever see daylight?"

"Not ever."

"I think I want to break this curse, just to stop this cruelty ever happening again! It's disgusting!" Ben exclaimed. Sora giggled at his deadly serious expression.  
>(Not that anyone knew, but Ben's occasional 'posh' word choices were because of his upbringing in the wealthy household of his father. Only Kairi knew that.)<p>

"Can we go inside?" Haruhi demanded. Tsuneo took her elbow, and they all (somehow) found their way in through the gates and into the house, all without being able to see anything.

***

"Have a nice time?" Kyo asked conventionally. He eyed the four teenagers with slight confusion at their tense expressions. Sora, as well as being tense, looked completely exhausted, thanks to the unceremonious weather.

No-one answered. Haruhi flushed, and noticed that Sora and Ben did the same. Tsuneo, surprisingly, held firm and stayed blank-faced. His mop of blonde hair covered up his eyes enough that the tension could not be seen in them. Haruhi suddenly had the intense urge to tell him, immediately, that his hair needed a cut.

"You don't need to hide anything, I know you're all together now," he added restlessly.

Sora gave a small 'eek!' Haruhi breathed a sigh of relief, since she didn't have actually say it aloud.

"Any by the way, I don't have an actual obligation to serve Akito anymore, but you will have to report back to Akito on this. You do know that, don't you?"

"We knew that from the beginning," Tsuneo said. "We will simply have to wait and see what happens."

"In the mean time, just carry on as normal. Go to school, do what you want, make each other happy, with the time you have, and maybe you can have some more time. You never know."

Haruhi smiled slightly. "Thanks, dad. You always give good advice."

A while later, a general consensus was reached. Haruhi would be the one to phone Akito, and arrange a meeting with the younger generation of Zodiacs. Since they were required to visit Akito anyway, it wouldn't seem too out of the ordinary to her. It was at this meeting that they planned to tell Akito of their intentions. She felt a sense of appalling depth in the pit of her stomach, and her body rang with tension.  
>She walked in false boldness up the phone, and dialled that number with shaking fingers.<p>

"Hello?" she croaked, her voice cracking from lack of use. "Hello?"

"Hello, who is this?" a voice she didn't recognise spoke on the other end. The man sounded downtrodden.

"Um, Haruhi Sohma. I'm… I'm the bird. Can I speak to Akito please?" Polite, she told herself, remember, they have to have respect. Although, the alarming speed of her heart was slightly unnerving.

"Ah, well, Haruhi, Akito's here, so, I'll just… Yeah," the man stuttered. "I'll get her." He sounded completely dejected.

Haruhi heard an impatient voice on the other end that sent small chills down her spine.

"Hand me the phone, Momiji, and clear off."

Who was Momiji? Was he another member of the Zodiac? He was probably one of the older generation. If so, she might even get to meet him when- if- they went to the main estate. What was she talking about? Of course she'd get to visit the main house at some point.

"Haruhi! It's so _nice _to get a phone call from Kyo's house! How are you doing?"

She cringed at Akito's sickeningly enthusiastic tone. "Hello, Akito, we have something to ask," she said in a high-pitched flurry. "Um, we want to all come to the main house for a visit if that's okay, and to tell you something."

The person on the other end of the line paused, and took a deep breath. "Of course! But make sure to bring Tohru and that old cat with you. I am sure they will be dying to see me after such a long time…!"

"Yeah, dying…"

"What, Haruhi?"

"Nothing. When do you want us to come round?"

"You'll come next Saturday. Now, I don't want you skipping out, because it would hurt me very much. So, and this is an order, tell Kyo that he and Tohru must come, and tell this to the others as well. I would very much like to see you all together. I will gather some of the other Zodiacs, too. Think of it as a reunion. Oh, and don't bring that memory suppression boy with you. He will stay behind. He is not important enough to be there."

"Right. Bye, Akito."

"Bye Haruhi, make sure to relay my message!"

Haruhi slammed the phone down. Soon, Tsuneo appeared at her side, looking down at her in concern. He slid the phone to the side on the counter, farther away from Haruhi. She watched it go, feeling Tsuneo's eyes on her and wanting to avoid his gaze.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

She swallowed and looked at the floor. "It was just weird, talking to Akito again, you know…"

He nodded. "I understand. It has been a long time since Akito has talked to us. Are you sure you want to go?"

"It's next Saturday…" she gulped. "We all have to go. You know we don't have a choice. We've all got to go to the main house- even my mum and dad. Akito wants to see everyone. It all fits in fine, since we were going to visit anyway and tell her what we were going to."

"Haruhi, you're rambling," he said weakly. "Come on, let's go and see the others. I'll tell them if you want. You don't have to, if you're still not feeling well after the phone call."

"Yeah. Thanks, Tsuneo. I'm such a wuss."

"No, you're not. Talking to Akito does different things to different people. I'm not sure how I'll react when I see her again…"

"Of course… you were Akito's very favourite, weren't you?"

"I was," he said, sounding awkward. "Anyhow, I don't think Akito regards me in that way anymore."

She nodded gratefully for his advice. Somehow, he managed to give exactly the right advice at exactly the right time. This calmed the odd feeling she had inside herself only a little. Talking to Akito, for some reason, like she came to their house that day, suddenly brought back all the memories she'd rather forget back up to the surface, flooding through her mind.

Haruhi swallowed and went to open the door to the living room, where everyone was waiting, leaning forward in edgy anticipation.

"So?" Ben asked.

Haruhi looked to Tsuneo for assistance. He looked momentarily pleased with himself. "Akito would like everybody to visit next Saturday… Including Tohru and Kyo. I think she means Ben as well. All of us, and she said she would summon a few others from the main house as well, into the meeting, and…" As he gradually realised that people were listening to him, his self-assured expression grew in tension and his voice faded out.

"Next Saturday might be a problem…" Kyo said.

"Why?" Tohru's face was unsmiling, a rare occurrence.

"Well, Tsuneo's got his tour round the university. I thought you all knew."

Tsuneo gulped. Everyone turned to stare at him. Haruhi felt her heart constrict. He flushed and cleared his throat. "Sorry for not saying anything…"

Kyo nodded. "I thought you were going to tell them."

"I know, it's just… I couldn't find the words," Tsuneo sighed, and faced everyone. "I knew the third year graduation was coming up, and I told Kyo about my university application… But, well, I have been meaning to tell you all but I never found the right moment."

She had always known that Tsuneo had to graduate two years before her, but she had never imagined that he would want to go to university. Would Akito even allow it? To go outside, and live a normal life… was that even possible for a Zodiac?  
>Tears gathered in her eyes and she hastily brushed them away, looking at the floor. At any rate, this meant that he wouldn't be there when they visited Akito…<p>

"What university is it?" she mumbled.

"Tokyo University."

"Wha-?! But that's the hardest one to get into! And how will you cope on your own? Don't you need us? Why can't you stay?" She felt like a spoilt child, wailing like an idiot. "You need us, you need…"

He took her hands in his. "I think you're talking about your own insecurities, Haruhi… I need to go out into the world, or I'll never get rid of the fear in my heart… I'll never heal. I know I'm being selfish, so, so selfish, but could you please forgive me?"

She ripped her hands out of his and gritted her teeth. "No!" she shouted. "Why can't anyone understand? Why does everyone keep on leaving?"

"Haruhi, please…" he said.

"No, I can't hear this!"

"Haruhi, wait!" he called hopelessly.

"Smooth," Ben commented.

Haruhi didn't know why, but she was furious! That awful feeling of being abandoned was unbearable. Tsuneo couldn't leave her, he couldn't! Of course she wanted him to stay, here with everyone. Plus, weren't they supposed to be going to Akito to declare their relationships? It all seemed a little meaningless now.

The rage boiling inside her had at last cooled off, and Haruhi was hit with a reminder of this behaviour. She hadn't acted in this way in at least a few weeks, no, more than that. Her small episodes of quick anger had all but died off. She thought that her erraticism had faded over time, that time had healed her wounds, but maybe the old insecurities were still there.  
>Tsuneo looked devastated, his eyes told everything as Haruhi swerved round him and out of the door. She realised that right now, an apology was probably in order.<br>There was a knock at the door, and a moment later, Tsuneo crept in.

"Haruhi?"

"What?"

"I… I was going to tell you, I honestly was… I couldn't find the right words."

"I know, it's okay."

"It's not, though. I really hurt you just now. I know, I should have talked to you about it before deciding this for myself, however I was worried about… about your reaction, that you would attempt the stop me from doing it."

Haruhi smirked. "You were probably right on that one." She walked over to him, and put her arms around him, grabbing him in to a tight hold. "I'm sorry for going all crazy on you."

"And I'm sorry for not letting you know," he replied. He raised his arms and hugged her back just as desperately. "Haruhi…"

"Yeah?"

"I'm… about the University. I am… It's worrying. I am worried." He spoke unevenly, like he was trying so hard to hold himself together. "The crowds, the pressure, the fact that I'm challenging the attitudes of the main house… Haruhi, I'm scared."

She laughed softly. "Of course you are, you dimwit. Who wouldn't be? Now, knock 'em dead, Tsuneo. You'll get in, no problem."

He stoked her face, and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Thank you, Haruhi. That's all I needed to hear."

***

Haruhi stood with gritted teeth, with Sora, Ben, Tohru, Kyo, Naoko, Raiden and Haku, the whole crew, outside the main gates of the Sohma estate. Raiden, whom Haruhi hadn't seen in months, seemed to have matured greatly. His jaw was more defined, he was taller, and instead of that dumb smile he used to wear, he appeared to be more of a genuine person. He had his arm around Naoko, who had been delighted to see Haruhi and Sora, and had grabbed them both into a crushing bear hug.

"How are you, Haruhi? You look a bit pale," Naoko observed.

Haruhi sighed, and switched on a smile. "Don't worry about me, I'm totally fine, honest." It wasn't fair on Sora for her to see Haruhi in a state, when she needed support too.

"Being back here feels so odd," Raiden said. "I wish my dad would hurry up- he said he would be here…"

"I think we're all feeling a bit like that at the moment," Sora mumbled. "It's been a long time since we've been here… It all feels like we're home, but it's scary to go in, and I don't know… I _want _to go in, but I don't."

"I won't let Akito do anything to you!" Haruhi replied, coming over very protective. It was always her natural reaction- someone like Sora, who was sensitive and slight, needed standing up for and supporting. Ben may have wanted to assume that role, but Haruhi wasn't one to back down with ease.

"Yes, but, if I happen to see that dark room again, I'm not sure if I can handle it…"

"I'm supposed to be living here, and I'm still not ready to see Akito. It's really been a while since I've seen her. She doesn't like me that much," Haku said bitterly.

"Don't you live inside with your dad Haru?" Naoko asked.

"Yeah, but I've been staying at Naoko and Raiden's for a few days, because of problems with my dad. Long story."

"Doesn't he like you or something?"

"Are you joking? Nah, that's not it. I just… I had get _out _of there, you know? Akito's not pleased about it, I can tell you."

"Everyone," Kyo said, "Someone's answering at the gate."

Sure enough, the lock on the gate was undone, and it sounded a little tentative. There was a small pause, and the gate creaked open only a few inches, enough for a man to put his head through the opening to see the guests.  
>Haruhi nearly gasped. The man, although he was about the same age as Kyo, had a startlingly beautiful face. If it weren't for the hollow expression he wore, Haruhi might have been looking at an angel. His hair was a gentle wave of blonde and his chocolate-coloured eyes stared at the group in front of him.<p>

"Momiji!" Tohru gasped, and ran over to greet him. "It's really you…"

"Tohru..?" he said, looking a little dazed. Then his face lit up. "Tohru, I don't believe it!" He swung open the gate, and grabbed both of her hands. "It's great to see you, after all this time…"

He looked like he was on the verge of tears.

So, this was the man Haruhi had spoken to on the phone. She never imagined he would be like this in person. The desolate man who had opened the gate was now vitalised, overjoyed, just to see Tohru. Haruhi remembered that Kyo had said about the fact that Tohru had accepted each member of the Sohma family into her life, how she had been kind and touch all their hearts. Now she knew exactly what her mother meant to the Zodiacs.

"And Kyo!" He walked over to Kyo and shook his hand. "It's been a long time. I'm glad you're both here. Who is this?"

Kyo smiled, a little sympathetically, before speaking. "My daughter Haruhi, and Sora, Raiden, Naoko and Haku."

"I see." Momiji gestured for Haruhi to come forward. Clearly, he didn't want to step too far outside the main gates. "So you're the kid I spoke to on the phone?"

"Uh, yeah," Haruhi said awkwardly, not quite knowing what to say.

"I'm Momiji, the rabbit. Good to meet you all." He turned to face everyone. "Everyone's gathered in Akito's meeting room. I mean, everyone. Me, Kagura, Ritsu, Haru, Shigure, Ayame and Hiro are all there. Even Hatori's come. Wait- there's only five young Zodiacs here- where's the other?"

"Tsuneo couldn't come today," Haruhi said, her head bowed. She sarcastically thanked Momiji inside her head for reminding her of why she felt so awful right now.

"He has a tour around Tokyo University. He insisted it was alright for him to go alone," Kyo supplemented, scratching his head.

Haruhi closed her eyes. She hoped Tsuneo would be alright. As for the consequences of him skipping out on a visit to the head of the family, well, she did not want to think about that for the time being. It was too much right now. The thoughts of him wandering around the University, in all those crowds, and then having to talk to people, and the thoughts of him being punished by Akito were all that consumed her mind. "I'll be with you in spirit, Haruhi, so be strong, okay?" he had said to her, but it was easier said than done, they both knew that. As he spoke, he had been shaking. Not out of fear for himself, but out of fear for the person he cared for the most.

* * *

><p>Thank you so much for reading, and thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review so far. I really appreciate it. Sorry for any typos, too!<p>

Stay tuned ;)


	16. Chapter 16 The Age-old Promise

Hi guys! Things are getting pretty intense now, so, no more to be said... enjoy!

Chapter 16- The age-old promise

It looked like everyone was thinking the same thing about Tsuneo's disobedience. However, right now was not the time to be worrying over that. They had to concentrate on what to say to Akito, and how they should act. It was just like the old days, only back then they were accustomed to the general level of tension; Haruhi, now, honestly felt that her heart was doing backflips.

"You had better come in," Momiji said, quickly looking over his shoulder.

Kyo nodded, and they all stepped in through the gates and into the estate. Several large houses surrounded them, each with their own fences, like a miniature village, and Haruhi could see the mansion's tip just above the houses father into the complex. It was eerily quiet. Some movements could be heard, but no-one could be seen. The flowers and bushes rustled in the gentle breeze, and the winter sun glared downward. To any other person, it would have appeared pleasant, but to Haruhi it was so bright that it was repellent.  
>Momiji lead them through the estate, and they all continued to peer at their surroundings. Haruhi tried to ignore the brief flashes of memories that she had previously laid to rest at the back of her mind, but to no avail. She remembered the night that Kyo and Yuki rescued her, holding her hand and running with her all the way out of the gates. She was scrawny, wearing a baggy green kimono, starving and shocked, but had somehow summoned the strength to run for it. Oh, and play 'ninja' in the corridors of the house, happy to be free. She had now evened out into comfortable slenderness, and the thought of ever wearing that green kimono again disgusted her, as she tugged at her jeans and red t shirt.<p>

At last, they reached Akito's mansion, surrounded by trees and easily the largest building on the entire complex. Haruhi had an awful emptiness in the pits of her stomach. Glancing over at Sora, who looked like she was about to faint, Haruhi swallowed hard and tried to remember to breathe.  
>They heard slow, measured footsteps, and Haruhi's heart did a somersault.<p>

"Akito!" Haku rasped. Hostility almost radiated from his body. No doubt, he was feeling the same terrible amalgam of emotions as Haruhi had felt that day when Akito had come to call. Everyone felt the same way. Haku gave a hacking cough, and gritted his teeth. Haruhi frowned; he must be in a lot of pain right now, she thought. He was still as sickly as ever.

Akito was stood before them, looking seamlessly calm, eyeing them all, one at a time. She was judging their facility, and not a word was whispered for a long moment. Haku continued to bare his teeth, and Raiden watched him. Raiden placed a warning hand on Haku's shoulder, and he shrugged it off.

"You all came," Akito said at last. She took a deep breath and again observed the line of people before her. "All but one. Where is Tsuneo?"

There was a sharp intake of breath from Haruhi. Nobody uttered a word, and Haruhi realised with discomfort that they were waiting for her to say something, since Tsuneo, now, was her 'other half'.

"Tsuneo, um, couldn't come today," she said, feeling stupid.

Akito approached her carefully, and put her hand on Haruhi's shoulder, tightly. "That's too bad. I was looking forward to seeing everyone together again. I thought you had something to tell me."

She hadn't the heart to answer back, so she simply stepped backwards, bowing her head. She told herself, stay calm. He heart slowed down and Haruhi's nerve returned. This time, stood before Akito, she felt a little braver.

"Go through to the main room. The others are waiting in there for you. This will be a nice reunion."

Kyo nodded, and held Tohru's hand securely. He led the way into the room, and Haruhi, taking restrained, silent breaths, followed. Suddenly, a thick barrage of emotion attacked her as soon as she stepped into the room with all those other people.

Dread, love, awe, fury and many anxieties threatened to engulf her. Haruhi sensed something deep in her heart; something terrible was going to happen if she walked any farther into that room, something nobody wished to come about. It was an ominous feeling, and she had the dizzying sense of appalling depth in her soul. The bird spirit inside her was causing a ruckus, urging Haruhi to run to Akito's side, and yet, for the first time, Haruhi felt its pure loneliness.

"But- where's my dad?" Raiden pressed, and he looked behind himself to check if indeed Kureno was on his way. "He said he was going to be here at the same time as everyone else. Maybe he got held up in traffic."

"I will have someone wait at the gates to show him in. For now, take a step in, Raiden," Akito replied. She gave Raiden a small push in the back, and he inhaled sharply. Understanding, he nodded, and walked through the doorway.

Haruhi hadn't seen so many people all knelt in one place before. There were men and women knelt in rows, hands in laps, facing directly toward the front. Momiji nodded to himself, and went to kneel beside a man who looked older than most of the others. He had jet black hair, some of which was tucked roughly behind his ears, a few lines on his face, and his eyes were black too.

Tohru gasped upon seeing them all in that way. She looked like she was going to cry at any given moment, and Kyo placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Just go sit down," he said to her in a warning voice.

"How did it get like this? Everything was perfect all those years ago…"

"Just go. Or Akito will…"

Akito cleared her throat, and Sora jumped. All of the younger Zodiacs slipped off their shoes and rushed to find a spot. All but Haku, who took measured steps towards a seat with very deliberate slowness, as if to delay things, even a little, even if he was going to be the one to take the punishment. Raiden glanced at Haku and smiled in gratitude; Haku merely raised an eyebrow, and continued his endeavour. Haruhi felt a rush of gratefulness toward Haku. Beneath that scowl of his was a person who would risk a lot to help his friend. If Haruhi were a little smarter, she might have done the same thing for Sora.

The people sat around Haruhi were like ghosts. They were ghosts of people who had been truly alive a long time ago. She could see- the faint glimmer of mischief behind the eyes of the black-haired man, and the longing that appeared whenever he laid eyes on Akito, who returned the gaze with coldness. She saw the gentle kindness emanating from Momiji, how he was trying so hard to appear content with his lot. The black and white haired man looked at Haku with knowing eyes. He touched the empty floor space next to him and eyed Haku. Haku nodded and sat next to him.

"Hey, dad," he said, without looking at him.

"Haku," he replied simply.

There were so many others- the very beautiful man with long, light brown hair sat across from her, an equally beautiful male with silver hair and an elegant stature, the woman whose face lit up when looking at Kyo, and Hiro, who looked as serious as ever. Another man sat a little apart from everyone else, with hair covering his left eye, which looked deliberate, since the rest of his hair was clean-cut.

"Well," Akito began, "It's good to see you all together again. Since Haruhi asked if she could come and see me, I thought I would make a day of it." She sat on the floor, and moved into a position where she could recline on her left elbow and face all of them.

"It's good to see you too, Akito," Raiden said pleasantly. _That's it, _Haruhi thought, _make some conversation. _They were all very used to the smiles and airs they had to put on when around Akito, who was a woman who needed that measure of assurance in her life.

"Yes, it has been a long time, Raiden," Akito replied, seeming pleased. "Come, Raiden, the dragon. You will be the first to sit beside me. It has been so long. After all, although we both live in the same complex, I hardly ever get to see you, because you go to school now, don't you?"

Raiden swallowed, and smiled wider. "Okay. I'll get up and come to you now." He ignored her comment about school, a wise move. It may only have led to more trouble.

He slowly rose, and walked over to Akito. He paused for a moment, stood before her, and then sank to the floor beside her. She looked at him for a moment.

"You look more reserved, Raiden. It disappoints me little. Maybe some company? Haku, will you come?"

"I'd rather die!" he hissed, and then slapped his hand to his mouth. "Forgive me. I don't know what I just said…"

"I think you do, Haku. However, you will soon come to understand that nothing can break the bonds of love we all share with each other. It's as simple as that."

Haku nodded. He took a deep breath, and walked, again as a slowly as possible, over to where Akito and Raiden were, and sat down next to them. The room, after that, was filled with an obstinate silence that made Haruhi's body sing with tension. It took all she had to remain calm. She was here for a purpose- to force Akito to hear what she had to say, to hear their confessions and accept that she could not control the right they had to love somebody else.

"Akito," Haruhi began, slicing through the silence. Directly addressing the head of the family out of turn felt oddly liberating.

"Yes, Haruhi? You always were a rash person."

She disregarded that comment. "Ah, me and Sora have something to… to say. It might affect Raiden and Naoko, I don't know… And Haku, maybe, in the future, if he finds someone… Ah, I'm rambling."

Her heart was racing as she came closer and closer to saying those words that Akito would go completely berserk over. Kyo had told her about the time when Akito had lost her temper and attacked Hatori, leaving him with barely any eyesight in his left eye. He had also told her about the time when she had knocked Kisa, Hiro's love, to the floor in spite and fury. For the first time, Haruhi felt glad Tsuneo wasn't there; at least now he wouldn't get hurt.

"If you've got something to say, go ahead. Say it. I'd love to hear you speak again. To hear your tactless, honest, naïve chatter…" Akito said, once again making observations that left her feeling highly exposed.

Haruhi decided. She wasn't going to back out of this one. "Akito… I- I love Tsuneo!"

Sora gasped. She hesitated, and, tearfully, she cried out, "And I love Ben. He is the most important person to me!"

Raiden nodded. "I love Naoko."

"Likewise," Naoko smiled.

"There, we said it!" Haruhi said, nodding vigorously.

Akito's eyes darted from person to person, purely astounded. Haruhi looked gleefully at the others, happy that they followed her lead. _Thanks guys! _She shouted in her head. From the expression of relief and bliss on Sora's face, anyone would think that she had received Haruhi's message.

However… her elated mood was threated upon meeting Akito's gaze. Akito stopped whipping her head between all of the younger generation, and her inky eyes rested upon meeting Haruhi's. Haruhi was dragged into a void within those eyes. They were filled with a blackness that she had long since forgotten.  
>But as Haruhi stared into the eyes of Akito Sohma, she saw, for the first time, something that had been previously undetected by her. What she saw… sobered her mood utterly.<br>She sensed a terror, a terror Akito had been nursing inside her heart for a very, very long time. Akito's eyes weren't filled with fury; they were filled with pure fear.

"What's going on?!" Haruhi suddenly shouted. She stood up. The older Zodiacs and Kyo and Tohru, who had remained in shocked silence until now, began to show signs of movement. Tohru began to move towards Haruhi, but Kyo stopped her.

"This isn't our argument," Kyo reminded her.

"They need our help…" Tohru protested softly.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Haruhi continued, pointing at Akito. "Those eyes… Why? I don't understand!"

Sometimes Haruhi hated how she could always see what someone was feeling. This time, she would do anything do deny what she could see now.

Akito stood up, and straightened her kimono. Haruhi saw that she was shaking. "How… HOW DARE YOU ADMIT THAT TRASH IN FRONT OF ME!" she roared at the top of her lungs.

_Oh no… _Haruhi thought, _here it is… Another 'Akito' rant. _Though her head actually managed to salvage some dry humour, Haruhi's heart constricted with terror.

"I won't allow it! I'll never allow it! See? This is what happens when I let you stay outside…! I have some of you back, but clearly, that's not enough! You go away from me, and you start _loving someone else! _It's the ultimate betrayal!"

"Akito…" Haruhi said. "Akito, why? Why does the curse have to be this way?"

"You all promised God that you would stay with me forever… Forever! You weren't supposed to love!"

Haruhi felt physically hurt by that, and she gritted her teeth. "Akito… You stopped trying to be God all those years ago, before we were born… Kyo told me you had a guy called Shigure, that you had accepted everyone and you were all happy. Why can't that be so anymore? Why did you change so drastically? Why?"

It all seemed totally hopeless.

Akito looked too angry to even speak. She trembled with fury, and the black-hair man moved swiftly; he rose and went to Akito like a ripple of water, silent and fluid. He took hold of Akito's arms and held them behind her back in a grip that, from the outside, looked effortless, however Haruhi could tell it was like iron. Something clicked in her mind; this man must be Shigure.

"Akito," he said, "this has to stop, now."

"Don't mock me!"

"I'm not mocking you; I'm being totally serious. Stop, or someone might get hurt."

Shigure cautiously loosened his control, and Akito, sensing this, forced herself out of his arms. She put her arm out and moved it slowly back. Although it never touched Shigure, there seemed to be an invisible wall that made Shigure fall back and go to sit down again.

"I have decided something," Akito said, perfectly calm once again. "It seems that my lenience hasn't been working at all.  
>All those curse by the Zodiac will return to me. Things will go back to how they were last year. That senseless traitor Tsuneo will return to my side; I'm willing to accept him back if he behaves himself. That disgusting cat will be locked up again, out of my sight, and Haruhi can go into the room next door; I refuse to let that defiant child roam free any more. Raiden, Haku and Naoko-back into your old rooms, and my other Zodiacs, I will allocate places for you to stay, out of trouble. Things have gotten too far out of hand; it's time things went back to how they were before."<p>

Everyone was far too stunned to utter a word.

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading! Let me know how I did ;)<p> 


	17. Chapter 17 A Place to Return to

Hi! Thanks to everyone who has read/reviewed my story so far. I'd really appreciate more reviews, though ;) Anyway, enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 17- A place to return to

Haruhi stood frozen on the spot, as if the shadows beneath her had spawned hands that were holding her ankles in a death grip. Not a muscle in her body dared to move, not even her eyes, which were open wide in disbelief. Tears began rolling silently down Sora's cheeks, and Haruhi finally moved, bowing her head and thinking… If only Ben were here; he'd stop Sora from crying. The other person's name was agonising to even think of… Haruhi could only think of the relief she felt that he wasn't here to witness something so heart-breaking, but the small child in her desperately wished that he would appear and take her out of this place. The thought of going into that dark room again was hard enough to bear thinking about, but the thought of Sora going through the same was somehow a thousand times more painful.

No-one had the heart to object; they were simply too shocked. Haruhi bit her lip. Was this the way it would be? The Zodiacs, bowing before Akito, mindlessly following orders and giving up at every tiny obstacle? She hated to think of the invisible chains they were bound by, and as much as she wanted to object, the desire to make a ruckus has dissipated along with Akito's last poisonous words. All sympathy she had for that woman had dissolved into the acid of her current thoughts.

***

The room was as dark as she remembered it.

"Go in, then," Akito said, tapping Haruhi on the shoulder. The sensation zinged through her body. "Hurry up, too. I have to locate Tsuneo."

"Don't you touch him!" Haruhi spat.

"Don't answer back. Go in."

"I… I don't want to! Why should I?"

"Go in."

That was it for Haruhi's valour. She gave Akito a hard stare and walked into the room. Akito wordlessly threw the green kimono she was holding at Haruhi, giving an unspoken signal that this was what she would be wearing from now on. Haruhi found it very difficult to mask her disgust. That kimono was like a symbol of her confinement, a uniform in a death camp. Akito turned away as Haruhi got changed into her 'uniform'. She pressed her face to her old clothes once as a goodbye, and looked down at her new attire in distaste.

"I'm not staying," Haruhi insisted, sounding much braver than she felt.

"You are."

"No, I'm not!"

Something wrenched inside Haruhi's soul. How on Earth had she been able to say something like that? Saying that should have stung her inside. The twinge she had prepared for never came. Something had changed, weakened.  
>Akito could sense it too, judging by her wounded expression of confusion.<p>

"Yes, you are!" Akito hissed.

"Just don't you touch Tsuneo, or I'll…"

"You'd kill me? How pathetic!"

She raised her fist, deliberated, and then grabbed for the nearest ornament on the table leant against the wall in the hallway. Haruhi had enough time to deduce that this was really, really going to hurt.

Something heavy hit her on the head, and she collapsed to the floor in a heap. The pain kept coming in tsunamis, wave after wave of intense torment. Haruhi tried to concentrate on her breathing, as she did before, but it did not seem to work. She hadn't experienced this kind of pain in a long while… _Endure… _she told herself, _Endure. Just hang in there._

***  
>Haruhi didn't want to let her eyes open. The real world seemed far too harsh right now, and she clung to the rolling hills in her dreams, reluctant to face what befell her now. She was vaguely aware that she hurt; every part of her body was screaming in pain, but somehow, she had progressed beyond the point of caring, and she was somewhat grateful for whatever seemed to be numbing those screams right now.<br>Her world blurred into existence as she opened her eyes, and her world was different. Yesterday, she woke on a mat underneath a light yet luxurious blanket, in the middle of a large room that was flooded with the sunlight that streamed through the glass window. She used to keep it slightly open, so she could hear the chatter of the birds in the morning. Her clothes were in a screwed up, chaotic mess in the corner, and her things were strewn across the floor in a wild fashion. She had put on a satin dressing gown and ran out of her room, greeted everyone at the breakfast table and enjoyed a meal made by her loving, gentle mother. She had kissed Tsuneo goodbye, and watched as he set out for university, and she had clambered, determined, into the car that took her to Akito's…  
>That seemingly distant memory dissolved as she absorbed her surroundings. She had completely forgotten how dreary this existence was. In the darkened room, she would wake on the cool, hard floor and massage her latest bruises, and dream of the time when she would be allowed back into her bedroom, to enjoy the comparative freedom of it all. Haruhi realised, for the first time, that maybe she had been taking her new life for granted, since she had carelessly allowed all memory of the <em>reality <em>of her old life to melt away.  
>The boundless, uninterrupted days spent living inside the far-fetched worlds of her video games, or outside walking around in the garden or talking to the birds were all that she had formerly known. The hell of the darkened room was a recurring nightmare that broke the monotony, but sapped her strength of will, whittled it down day by day, and the times sat alone, close to Akito were what haunted her the most. Perhaps, now that Akito was so furious, she wouldn't want to hold any of her subjects ever again. Like Haruhi thought, a truly pitiable woman. It was no longer hatred. Haruhi felt that, inside, she knew that Akito needed understanding from somebody. She had been raised different. A twinge of guilt was felt as she realised that, in Akito's eyes, they really all were trying to betray her.<p>

She raised her hand slowly to her head, and was shocked to find a large lump and wetness that could only have been blood. Parts of her hairline were sticky with it, and now her hands were bloody too. Her head throbbed like never before.

"I really screwed this one up," she muttered, and attempted to stand. "Ouch!" She added an ill-mannered phrase and a small number of swearwords, tumbling to the ground. She clutched her shoulder, which was tingling, and found that there was also an extreme pain in her right leg. Was there any part of her being that was not wounded? She clutched her heart.  
>"This really is all my damn fault. If I hadn't… If I hadn't said anything, this never would have happened. I have to get out of here somehow! Dammit, dammit, dammit!"<p>

She sat up, gritting her teeth to disregard the pain that shot through every inch of her body, and tugged at her shapeless kimono. She wondered what they had done with her old clothes; knowing Akito, they had probably all been burned, or something of the sort.  
>With a jolt, Haruhi realised something: Sora was in the room next door! She almost let a bitter laugh escape her lips as flashes of images of having her face pressed up against that wall as if there were no other wall in the world. The conversations that had encompassed Haruhi's entire existence and had comforted her would now be her saving grace. Her heart leapt as she crawled over to the wall, and resumed the sitting, leaning combo position, welcoming the wall like an old friend.<p>

"Sora, are you in there?" she said loudly, praying inside. "Sora, answer me."

A faint shuffling movement was heard, and the reply gave Haruhi the biggest rush of relief she had ever felt.

"Haruhi! Thank goodness… This brings back memories, doesn't it? Or our old times, before we even knew each other's faces."

Haruhi laughed. "Trust you to not even be depressed on the outside. But you must be missing Ben, right?"

"Yes, I miss him… Oh Haruhi, I really want to escape again!"

Haruhi could hazard a guess that she was crying. "Don't worry, Sora. Somehow, we'll get out. Er, I'm not quite sure how yet, but I'll figure something out… I hope. Things look pretty grim at the moment. I'm just happy that Tsuneo isn't… that he didn't have to go through it."

"At least you know he's safe at the moment."

"Are you kidding me? He's probably gone under a bus by now, knowing his sense. He might have accidentally offended the university people, or even ran back home!"

She was in a strange mood currently. Back in the terrifying monotony of daily life in the darkened room, her moods had retreated into the state of constant fluctuation, like her emotions had been free to wander, and returned back into the old box they had previously been locked in. It was a knee-jerk reaction, an involuntary mechanism of the mind.

"I suppose you're right."

The conversation drifted towards a natural stopping point, and Haruhi lay back down on the unforgivingly severe wooden floor. After she had wiped the blood on her head away, she improvised, taking off one of the two ties on her kimono and wrapping around her skull, closing the wound and reminding herself of the ninjas she adored. She curled up in the foetal position and withdrew back into the nadirs of her dreams, where, at every turn, his face was beaming down at her like rays from heaven.

***  
>Haruhi woke up to a banging on her wall, which made impulses zing through her veins. Sora calling on her had once again become her lifeline, practically her source of oxygen. She ignored the obstinate throbbing in her skull, and the sting of her many injuries, and shuffled over to the wall. Pressing her face against it, she breathed out slowly and almost drifted back off to her slumbers.<p>

"Sora, no need to keep knocking. I'm here!" she said, slightly exasperate yet happy all the same.

"Thank goodness, I've been knocking ages!" That was about as close to angry Sora would ever get.

"So, uh, what did you want to talk about today?" Haruhi was a little stuck for conversation topics. She tried to think about something that wasn't Tsuneo or Ben, and something that wasn't about Akito. It didn't work very well.

"I don't know. It feels like we've been here forever, even though it has only been one night…"

"I know what you mean. It's weird, 'cause we know this life, and it's going back to the old days when this was all we knew… Ah, my words are coming out all muddled." Sora didn't reply. "Erm, Sora? You still there?"

"…Yeah. It's not like you to be so defeated, Haruhi."

"Defeated? I don't know what you mean. I'm perfectly fine!"

"No you're not! Don't you think I can tell when you're lying to me! I bet you're not even smiling now; I bet you're crying!"

Haruhi froze as she raised her hand to feel tears rolling down her cheeks. Sora was right. What idiot wouldn't be crying in these circumstances? She was a fool.

"Crap. Shut up, Sora."

"Haruhi?"

"What?"

"Tell me story of the outside world. Please?"

"But you know what it's like out there now!"

"You can make good stuff up! It'll make us both feel better!"

"Fine." Haruhi took a breath and her voice shifted gradually into something of a chant, like she had said the words a thousand times before, rehearsed them and delivered them like a remarkably skilled actor. "Well, in one part of the world, there's a place where the Zodiac curse doesn't exist. All the animals and people get on in everyday life like normal, and ordinary things happen. Like, the biggest problem of someone's day would be that their bus was late, or they lost their lunch money, or that there was some stupid bully at school. Parents take their kids to school, and buy them sweets, and the kids have screaming tantrums in the middle of the shops because they can't have everything they want, there and then. It's just an ordinary life.  
>Outside the cities are huge rolling hills, far away from the roads. The flowers in the meadows smell incredible, like the perfume that you wear when you're with Ben, sweet and beautiful. There are hardly any clouds in the sky, ever. You and me, and Ben and Tsuneo have a great time, just sat there, not talking at all, and they look at us as if they were seeing us for the first time, with shining faces. It's… it's like that."<p>

There was no reply from Sora for a long time, and Haruhi, blushing furiously, realised that Sora had been hearing the description of her own dream.

*A week later*

"Sora! I'm not giving up, you hear me? We're getting out of here, right here and now! I'm sick of _dreaming _these things. We're going to meet up with the guys and get out of this hellhole!"

"Now that's the Haruhi I know!"

Haruhi nodded vigorously, and cracked her knuckles. Sora's clever tactics had gone and reawakened the spark inside her, her spirit. She stood up, and even in her weakened condition, her body felt like iron. She ignored the sensation that he legs were going to buckle beneath her, and strode to the door.

"Let us out!" she roared, and banged as hard as she could on the door. "Someone, let us out! I swear I'll knock this damn door down if you don't come right now! And when I get out, I'll beat the crap out of you for keeping us in these rooms all this time! Do you hear me?! I've been waiting long enough already!"

"Um, Haruhi, I'm not sure if anyone will answer after hearing that," Sora called.

"Hey, if anyone's out here, I demand that you release us, or I'll stand here like an idiot, screaming my head off until Akito comes. Then we'll all be in trouble! How do you like that?"

Haruhi ran out of breath and leant on the door, her now bruised hand throbbing. It seemed completely hopeless. The only people who would hear would be the maids, and they all agreed with whatever Akito thought- Kyo had said to her, a while ago, that when Akito 'changed' all those years ago, a servant claimed that they 'liked' Akito better before, when everyone believed she was a man and they were stuck under her regime as the Zodiac God. There was no way in hell that any of them would consider risking their careers to rescue as loud-mouthed teenage brat and her outcast of a friend.

"Dammit, I give up! This is useless!" she cried. She held her fists close to her eyes and realised that they were now bleeding.

A floorboard creaked outside the room.

Haruhi drew in a sharp intake of breath. There really was someone outside, listening all this time.  
>The sound of feet on floorboards made her heart race uncontrollably, and she felt as if she were the victim character in a scary film, the type that made her jump with sudden bangs and people pouncing out of nowhere to prey on their innocent targets.<p>

"Someone's there?" she breathed. She instinctively reached out and put her hand around the door handle. Something felt strange. She found out why; pushing on the handle, she realised as it slid open… "It was open all this time?"

And then Tsuneo was in front of her, flanked by Kureno. He was looking windswept and flustered, his tangle of sandy hair handing over his forehead, with just enough room for a pair of ecstatic eyes to stare through.

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	18. Chapter 18 Heartbeat

Eek! We are nearing the end! Fear not, for there will be a couple more chapters and an epilogue or two. So read and enjoy! :) PS/ This is unedited, so there may possibly be some unintentional mistakes...

Chapter 18- Heartbeat

Tsuneo was completely still, his hair swept to the side, with a tiny smile etched around the edges of his lips, which were slightly parted. His shoes were still on, he was wearing a coat over his kimono, and his face was flecked with raindrops. He was out of breath and flushed, and he was alive, there in front of her, eyes beaming down like he was seeing her for the first time in a thousand years.

"Haruhi!" he breathed.

Haruhi was totally dazed. She had thought that her world existed entirely within Sohma house. Sohma, always the Sohma. And now she realised that she didn't exist solely for the Sohma, she existed for Tsuneo. She could hardly believe what she was seeing; it might have all been part of some ridiculous dream, a hallucination created by the shadows of madness that crept into her during her confinement.

"Ts-Tsuneo?" Her voice cracked from disuse.

"It's me. I am here now, Haruhi."

His musical voice took all tension away, and Haruhi felt a relief that consumed her.

She reached out tentatively, and touched his face. "It's really you… You came!"

Tears began falling down her cheeks before she could choke them back. They rolled downward and spotted their united hands, a symbol of the relief Haruhi felt from the bottom of her heart. It was like Tsuneo had been sent by a real God, a guardian angel to rescue her at her lowest point.

He held her shoulders. Haruhi looked, bleary-eyed, up at him, and as she did so, Tsuneo allowed his own teardrops to fall. There was something even more relieving in watching him cry; it was the first time he was crying honestly, from happiness rather than childish fear. He gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut.

"You're okay, you're fine," he forced out between hurried breaths.

"Hey, hey, I'm meant to be the one who's more upset here, not you…" she said weakly.

"Oh, okay. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, it's really you!"

"It's just that… Well, it has just sunk in that you're in one piece."

He glanced at the makeshift bandage around her head, and his eyes scanned her body, taking in each cut and bruise. Gradually, his face filled with grief and barely concealed anger.

"Hey, smile now, Tsuneo!" she said lightly.

He laughed, forgetting, and pulled her into a tight hug, and she put her arms around his waist, determined never to let him go again.  
>Haruhi did feel slightly ashamed of her thinness; she ruefully thought of how if must have felt to hold someone so skinny and insubstantial, and was amazed that he could still love her even in this state. Wearing a green kimono, with messy hair and a tear-stained face, she was less than inviting.<p>

"Haruhi, please try to keep quiet," he urged, speaking into her hair.

"I just can't believe it…"

Tsuneo broke the hold, but he still held out his arm for Haruhi to link with and lean into him, as a reassurance that he was not going to abandon her again. He was sticking around, and Haruhi revelled in this new security, forgetting many important things in the process.  
>With a jolt, she realised that Kureno had been watching all of this with a rather uncomfortable expression on his face, maybe even a little apologetic.<p>

"Ah, sorry, Kureno!" she said embarrassedly.

"It's fine," he replied. "But don't we need to get Sora out too? She must be wondering what the commotion out here is all about. We don't want to keep her waiting."

"Just Sora? But what about the others?"

"I suppose I should give you an update on what's happening…"

"Be quick please." Tsuneo said this before taking a quick glance behind.

"Ah, okay…" Kureno's vague tone had an oddly calming effect on Haruhi. "Well, if I'm quiet, I should have enough time to tell you everything that led myself and Tsuneo up to this point.  
>Tsuneo was at the tour of the university, which lasted several days, but before Tsuneo left, he called my home. He warned me not to go to Akitos; if anything were to happen to you or Sora, there needed to be someone who could help, because he would not be there. So I remained at my home.<br>Upon Tsuneo's return home, he discovered that you and Sora had still not returned from your visit to Akito, and Ben was extremely worried about the both of you. I had not been able to enter the mansion; there were people refusing my admittance at every turn for days, and so that led me to know that Akito had probably imprisoned you all once again. Tsuneo and Ben had guessed this too, although I didn't know it at the time.  
>Of course we wanted to get you out of here immediately, so Tsuneo and Ben came to me, asking for a plan to get you younger Zodiacs out of here without a commotion, since I was the person Tsuneo had asked for help in the beginning."<p>

"And what was that plan?"

"Well, Raiden, Naoko and Haku are already making their way out as we speak. I know all the ways to leave this complex without being seen; I've lived here for a long time. They are going to go outside the back of the complex and run far away from here. We sent Sora out with Ben, so you and Tsuneo are last people left here, so you have to figure out what to do."

"Wait, I know we could get away from here, but, I mean, I know most of their homes are _inside, _but my house is far away; they could all go there! I don't understand…" This plan seemed to be getting more confusing and far-fetched as it progressed.

Tsuneo bowed his head and turned to face Haruhi. He had a grave expression on his face that made Haruhi feel afraid. Not of him, but of the words that would escape his mouth.

"Haruhi… There's no use going back there. There's no-one there anymore. Tohru and Kyo seem to have gone missing."

Her heart stopped. "What? Mum and dad?" Her night went from one of pure happiness and relief to one of despair and fear. "They went missing?"

"Yes. When I got home, Ben was a nervous wreck. From what we can tell, it seems that they must have been driven out of the main house, but then never returned to Ben. He had no-one to contact and was forced to wait at home alone, and this was some time ago."

"What the hell is going on?" she said, her voice cracking. "Things are so complicated at the moment… What do we do?"

Kureno looked at her with pitying eyes. "I'll be staying here to watch over Akito… All of the older generation have left tonight, but I'll stay behind."

"But Kureno- you could get away from all of this if you wanted to. You could run away and leave us all behind. The Sohma is a troublesome family!" she protested.

"I ran away from all of this fifteen years ago. I won't do it again, because this time there are several young people who need my help. Akito also needs help. She is quite mad now, but there is still hope for her. I have a feeling that Shigure and I can get through to her, if we just try."

Haruhi sighed. What a determined and selfless man. "What about your family?"

"They will understand. I don't really know what to do about that quite yet… But anyway, that's really not the most important thing in this whole plan. I told you that I would try and help Akito to let the curse go again, although we're not sure if that's what it takes to destroy such a powerful curse. We can try though. But, until that time, it's not safe for you all to be here anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"With Tohru and Kyo missing, you can't go back home. It's too easy for Akito to find someone to find you all. None of the safe houses are available now, because Akito has everyone living in the main estate. Your only option now is to split up and run."

Haruhi breathed in deeply. "Right… Okay. We'll get out of here…"

Her heart was hurting right now. She'd take physical pain any time now. She'd take a thousand hits from the hand of God, she'd take Ben's place in front of that van, she'd take it thankfully in exchange for the anguish deep in her heart. The newly healed wounds had opened and begun to bleed afresh; the gashes that her family had restored whole had been recreated as searing reminders of the reality of the Zodiac life.

"I'm so sorry, but you'll have to think of something. We've been too loud… We've probably woken someone up. There's not much time. You have to run- now!"

The urgency in his expression was felt by Haruhi almost like a physical imprint. His desperate eyes bored into her with his honesty, his earnest desire to keep the peace. Haruhi could see why such a man was well loved by Arisa, and regarded kindly by his family.

Tsuneo face Kureno. "I'd like to thank you, so much, for everything you have done for us," he said solemnly.

"No problem. You're a decent young man-do some goodin this world." He held out his hand for Tsuneo.

Tsuneo bit back his years, determined as ever to stay strong as he took Kureno's hand and gave him a firm handshake. "Thank you."

Before Haruhi could speak, Kureno cut her off. He smiled widely. "Haruhi Sohma, it's been a pleasure."

"This isn't goodbye so don't act like it is!"

Unable to muster up any energy to speak more, Haruhi gave a muffled thank you and was buried in Tsuneo arms. He gripped her shoulders.

"We have to go now," he said.

"Go, now, before someone catches you. You'll be fine out there!" Kureno urged.

She nodded, and with a final fleeting glance at Kureno, they bade their mental farewells and headed for the exit, the small glow of light they could see outside, hand in hand. _Thank you, Kureno, _she thought. She hastily wiped the tears off her cheeks. This was it. They would get away from the Sohma house… but for how long? There was no future for them.

The Sohma estate was enormous; Haruhi knew that much from her days of exploring, but she had never actually tried one of the secret exits. She had always conjured up some hurried and ridiculous reason as to why that wouldn't be a very good idea. Something always came up to stop her from trying it. Partially it was fear of the consequences if she were caught after running away. This didn't even matter now, because there was this to run from and nowhere to go back to. If there was any time to grow up, it was now. They needed to find the escape point Kureno had mentioned.

Outside of Akito's mansion, the complex was pitch black, since minimal technology was used here. The night breeze rustled the many trees and bushes, making it difficult to tell whether someone was watching of following them. They might have been waiting in the shadows. If an ordinary person wandered into the Sohma estate, by some impossibility, they might think that it was an abandoned ghost town.

"Come on Haruhi, Kureno told me it was this way!" Tsuneo whispered in urgency. Haruhi couldn't see his face clearly in this blackness, so it sounded like a consciousness inside her.

He pulled gently on her hand, indicating the direction. Haruhi nodded and broke into a desperate run with him. They were so close to freedom, so close… So close to the real world. They sprinted, darting to the side every time they could sense they were about to run into something solid. Eventually, Haruhi heard the rush of traffic, saw the distant dim glow of street lamps beyond the tall, unforgiving walls of the Sohma estate. Tsuneo led her to the side a little, and, to her, surprise, dragged her behind a bush.

"There is a gap in between the fence posts here," he informed, seeming very matter-of-fact.

"Right. Let's go." She was determined not to let fear and worry get the better of her right now.

They groped around in the shadows, before Haruhi felt a gust of cool air and her hand reached and grabbed nothing but the darkness. It wasn't a very long search, which was highly relieving.

"I found it!"

She squeezed herself through the gap, and helped Tsuneo through. As she passed through the wounds on her back smarted, scratching painfully against the sides of the fence. When she saw Tohru again, she'd have to ask for that stuff she'd been dabbing onto her wounds when she first moved in. But that wouldn't be the first thing she'd do. No, the first thing she would do was ask for some of her mothers legendary cooking.

As they clambered out to the streets, many people stopped to stare at the two teenagers who had, literally, been dragged through a hedge. Haruhi brushed the leaves out of her hair and tugged at her irritating kimono.

"Ugh, I look so stupid like this…" she muttered.

"I wear kimonos all the time!" Tsuneo pointed out, jabbing his own shop bought attire with a slight hint of haughty pride.

Haruhi suppressed a giggle.

"So what do we do now?"

"We get you some food… I'm worried. You look like you are very hungry. When was the last time they gave you something to eat?" He eyed her with his piercing concern.

Her stomach gave a loud, embarrassing rumble as if it were responding to Tsuneo's words. She laid her hand over it and sighed in defeat. As she kept her hand there, she noticed with depression that, once again, she could feel her ribs. What rapid weight loss. _Must be the stress, _she thought sardonically. After all, Akito seemed to be allergic to feeding her 'precious' Zodiac subjects. She starved them half to death and expected them to love her? No, Haruhi didn't love her, but she did understand a little better now why Akito behaved the way she did. She knew this because Akito was just like a magnified version of herself, in a way. The thought of that made her slightly uncomfortable.

She was snapped out of her lapse into deep thought by a wave of Tsuneo's hand in front of her face.

"Are still with me, Haruhi?"

"Eh?"

"It's a saying that someone told me in Tokyo."

"Haha, you sound so proud…"

"Well, I suppose I know you weren't just about to fall unconscious now."

He sewed his fingers into hers with one hand and used the other to stroke her bony cheek and hold it there. The look in his eyes was distant, impenetrable, for just a moment.

"Something wrong?" she guessed, feeling her heart flutter slightly at his warm palm on her cheek.

He seemed to be struggling for the words. She used her free hand to reach up and hold the one that was pressed gently to her face.

"Tsuneo what is it?"

"Aren't you anxious at all? About your mother and father? They have gone missing."

Haruhi's expression faded and the sparkle in her eyes went out faster than an extinguished candle flame. It didn't even flicker. She mentally chastised Tsuneo for bringing that up. He was always the observant one, taking in everything around him and reading her like one of the many books he so adored.

"You're not a psychic… so how can you be this good at reading my thoughts? I was trying so hard… to not think about that, telling myself that they would turn up in the end, that everything right now will sort itself out. I don't know what's happened, I don't know what's going to happen and thinking about mum and dad just adds to the huge pile of worries I'm having right now!"

Shocked, Tsuneo let his hand drop from her face and unknotted his fingers from hers. Haruhi forced back her tears and realised that she had just said all of this rather loudly in the middle of the street. She grabbed Tsuneo into a frantic embrace and buried her face in his warm chest. He wrapped his arms around her, using one to hold the back of her head.

"Sorry for upsetting you…" he mumbled.

"It's okay," she sniffed, muffled. "I'm being a bit selfish right now. You must be frightened too, and here I am acting like the biggest drama queen ever."

"Er, that's-"

"I know, I know, you agree with that."

"Yes…"

"Sorry for being such an idiot. You always were the one who had better instincts than me. Now, can we get some food? I am starving!"

Tsuneo laughed softly. "Of course."

"Wait… Er, do you have any money on you? Akito was a bit stingy on us with pocket money," she remembered something, adding a sarcastic remark.

Tsuneo bit his lip. "Well, you see, Kureno was kind enough to drive Ben and I to the main house in his car, and we didn't think to bring any money… The only things I have on me at the moment are two train tickets out of town."

"Well, that was clever!"

He sighed in regret. "Kureno must have assumed that we would bring money, which is why he didn't ask. I should have thought things through a little more. And now you're going hungry because of my thoughtlessness…"

"It doesn't matter. We'll find food somehow."

She slipped her hand into Tsuneo's.

"I guess it's time for us Zodiacs to go out into the real world…"

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading! Some reviews would be nice ;)<p> 


	19. Chapter 19 Time's Door

Ahhh, it's the second to last chapter! Thank you for reading this far. Please review! ^_^

Chapter 19- Time's Door

Gradually, the night sky was receding. Haruhi hadn't realised it was already morning. The rush of adrenaline that came through her while escaping had kept her standing, it commanded hunger and every other pain away, reserved only her necessary functions for escape. But, now she was out of the estate, hand in hand with Tsuneo, all those superfluous things returned with a vengeance, and she felt a hideous rumble in her stomach. Her knees felt like they would buckle, and the wound on her head began to throb unforgivably.

"Tsuneo?"

"Yes?"

"I think… Well, I know she's done some really terrible things to us… but I kind of feel sorry for Akito, you know? She needed that guarantee that we would all be there for her, because of that old legend… but you know, we really did betray her. Her way of going about it was wrong- the locking up, the torturing, but her intentions weren't to make us stay… they were making us see how much she needed us."

He breathed out slowly. "I… I think I understand what you mean. We cannot hate Akito. That promise is the single most important thing, and it must have been extremely difficult for Akito to let everybody go last time around."

"I just… Is it wrong to forgive her? I'm freakin' scared of her, she's crazy and she's done some nasty things… but what she needed was compassion. I forgive her."

Tsuneo nodded. "It's not wrong. Yes, we still bear the scars, mental and psychological, from her treatment, but did we ever understand why she did such things? When did we account for _her _suffering? We were too preoccupied with our fear, our malice and despair…"

Haruhi had spent a long time thinking about this, locked up in the room. She had also asked herself this before. When did this become a curse? At what point did the humans want to rebel, to get away and live normal lives? God must have been angry for a long, long time, and passed this anger on to Akito to bear. In a way, God needed to let them go, yes, but a vital part was missing from the way they broke that curse fifteen years ago…

"Tsuneo!" she gasped.

"What is it Haruhi? Don't frighten me like that."

She realised that she was gripping his hand so tightly that her knuckles were going white. She retracted her hand at once, an apologetic smile on her face.

"Woops; sorry…"

"Say it, then!"

"Last time around, Akito let them all go, but things were incomplete. No-one had truly forgiven each other for what was done- they tried to get away. Things were unresolved, half-done. Akito might have apologised, yes, but the Zodiac didn't…_Everything_ needs to be mutual!"

She felt like she would pop from this revelation. She had done it, she was sure! Last time around, not all of the Zodiac had fully forgiven Akito… They had run away and not fully admitted that they had wrongs in it too.  
>The older generation, now, seemed to have forgiven her. They seemed a little defeatist, and who could blame them? But now everyone was gone, and the older generation had forgiven Akito and admitted their own wrongs, then all that was left was…to hope that Sora, Naoko, Haku and Raiden all felt the same way… Because things would not go smoothly otherwise. Haruhi had no doubt that Sora was fine now, Raiden too (although she could never tell what he was thinking), and maybe Naoko. The real slim hope of Haku being able to say 'sorry' and forgive Akito was all they had left.<br>It all laid on him, the hot-tempered, hypercritical… Haruhi nearly slapped her forehead. That was how it would work. _Both _sides needed to both apologise _and _forgive each other. It broke the ties they had before and would forge new ones. Healthy ones. She had cracked it!

"I see!" He swung her around to face him. "You might be right on that theory! But any outsider would say that, after all the abuse the Zodiacs had gone through, Akito deserved that sense of abandonment."

"Well, a promise is a promise."

***

"That felt so good!"

She had to admit, scrounging money off some guy in the street was low, undignified, but honestly, what other options did the two of them have right now? And okay, the convenience store wasn't exactly high-class, but they had gotten some reasonable food to eat. If she was honest with herself, she would have eaten anything anyone gave her, she was so hungry.  
>Anyway, that was over now, and they had no clue as to what to do next.<p>

"We could use the train tickets I have," Tsuneo suggested, digging them out of his pocket. "I think they just take us to the next town, but that should be far enough."

"I've never been on a train before… It sounds pretty cool."

"It is…" Tsuneo came over a little wistful. "I read in books about trains, and it sounded very frightening. However, when I got on the train on my way to Tokyo, I was pleasantly surprised. It felt like it was standing still, and actually it was running along the tracks at alarming speeds."

"Right! Well, let's go!" _I'll never let Tsuneo know how nerdy it is to love trains like that. At least, Ben told me that was nerdy. Wait, what is a nerd anyway?_

***

"Okay… this is pretty cool."

Haruhi stared out of the window of the train, thinking to herself. A leap in her stomach was the response, physically, to the thinking of such a solution. An immense sense of pride welled in her, like a child who had solved the simplest of sums in a classroom. She was groggy with fatigue, plagued with throbbing aches, and the whir of complicated thoughts buzzed in her head like a swarm of bees. It was ordered chaos, a compilation of her resolution.

Tsuneo had his head bent, deeply engrossed in his own private thoughts. Haruhi admired the immense strength he had shown in recent days, and her heart went out to him for trying so hard. He deserved a medal. No, two medals.  
>He would back her up on this, be her ally. He didn't doubt her.<p>

The midday sun excelled above, and there was wall-to-wall sunshine, enough to irritated her eyes whenever she looked in its direction, since there was not a single cloud around to block the view. It didn't seem cruel, like it had on the estate, before they went in to see Akito. It was glorious, as if it knew Haruhi's thoughts.

"Haruhi… It's our stop…" Tsuneo said vaguely, not entirely there.

"Oh. Right. Well, we'd better get going, then!"

She stood up abruptly, and took Tsuneo's hand.

Getting off the train was pure chaos. It turned out that this stop was in a city, and the amount of people leaving the train was ludicrous. The cacophony, the vortex of disorder whirred around them both, and it was a real wonder they weren't separated. Haruhi kept a firm death grip on Tsuneo's wrist.

Tsuneo seemed distracted for some reason. He had stopped looking at her, and her had deviated a little from their straight path. He appeared to be looking for something, with a blank countenance and totally honest eyes, no concern at all, only innocence. Haruhi's face relaxed when seeing his soft expression. She was lucky to have him.

"Thank you Tsuneo… sincerely."

"What?" He spun around to face her.

"It's nothing. Why are you acting so weird all of a sudden?"

"Oh, that… I thought I saw someone waving at us a little while ago, that's all… I could have sworn that I saw someone with orange hair gesture for us to approach them. I couldn't tell who it was, so I left it. But now I think about it, it might have been…"

"Who are you thinking of? Tsuneo, you aren't making a lot of sense right now. Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Concern clouded her face.

Tsuneo frowned. "No… I'm sure of it. It was-"

"HEY! You two, it's us!"

Haruhi heard a voice. It couldn't be. It really couldn't be. It was impossible. If she couldn't see her father running towards them right at that moment, she would have put that voice down to her over active imagination.  
>Kyo was right in front of them. Haruhi's mouth gaped open in the shape of a large 'o' and she felt tears in her eyes. They escaped and toppled down her face in cascades, and she stood, totally frozen. She could see the flush in his cheeks; he had been running for a while. His hair stuck to his forehead, and his breathing was laboured.<p>

"Dad?"

"Damn right it is. Do you know how _long _it took to find you?!"

Kyo gritted his teeth, and Haruhi hesitated for a moment. Then she threw her arms around him and buried her face into his chest. It was the first time they had touched since the beginning, all those months ago. She remembered that time. She had tried to punch him, and Tsuneo had come to her rescue when she was upset afterwards. Recently, she seemed to be recalling a lot of old memories, acting nostalgic.  
>Kyo acted completely taken aback for a second, before relaxing, and wrapping his arms round his daughter.<p>

"I didn't know if I was going to see you again…" she mumbled.

"Sorry."

"And why in the hell did you go missing?!"

"We were waiting for you! After your mum and I got turned out of the estate, we decided to wait in the car overnight… trust me, it wasn't _my _idea, but your mum was worried sick… Anyway, we waited and waited, and you never came out, so we booked into a hotel round the corner…"

"Geez, you could have gone home…"

"We were worried, dammit!" he snapped. "We stayed in the hotel, and Tohru suggested that we go looking for you… We looked… and here we are now."

"Ben reported you missing!"

"Couldn't be helped."

"You could have at least called him!"

"We didn't think about that when we knew that you were all cooped up in Akito's crazy house, did we? We were more concerned about other things, like making sure you were all okay."

"Please stop arguing…" Tsuneo sighed in exasperation. "I don't like it."

Haruhi bit her lip. "Sorry." She had forgotten that conflict made Tsuneo uncomfortable. More than the awkwardness that average boyfriend felt when the girl was having a dispute with her parent. It was the heat of the moment. She was so overjoyed to see Kyo again, her mood was a little strange right now.

"Where's mum then?"

"Waiting with the car. We need to get home. Things have to be put right again…"

Haruhi and Tsuneo nodded simultaneously and she felt a leap in her stomach again. A shiver ran through her body, like the bird was warning her: she was in dangerous territory now. Enemy territory. She had to tell Kyo, but how? She decided to wait until everyone was gathered together… but with the others missing, that was going to pose quite the problem to her. The little search and rescue mission wasn't over. She couldn't relax just yet.

"Right. Let's head home and sort things out from there."

"Haruhi…" Tsuneo whispered in her ear. His warm breath made her shiver. "Haruhi, this is big stuff now. It is getting quite serious…"

"Don't worry. I'll get the others to come around. I'll break this curse on my own, trust me!"

He shook his head, a crease appearing on his brow. He looked so mature when this happened. "No, Haruhi. If you start thinking in that way, you will forget the bonds you have with all of us. Don't try to do it all on your own. It was that desire for separation that brought the curse back even heavier."

Shocked by this revelation, Haruhi suddenly felt ashamed with herself. Guilt threatened to engulf her. "Don't make me feel any worse than I already am… mind reader."

"You've done so much for everyone already. Let's just all make it through this as a team, okay, Haruhi?"

*^_^ O*O*O ^_^O*O*O^_^*

The journey back home was punctuated often by potholes in the roads, and bumps along the way on the under-developed country path. Wave after wave of soothing nostalgia immersed Haruhi, and she found the presence of the good memories to be soothing beyond words. She blissfully recalled Tsuneo running away from the deer in the forest out back, running straight to Tohru who soothed him without words. She remembered waiting patiently by the window to greet the birds that frequented the blossom trees early in the morning, with their idle chatter and busy noise, the beautiful dawn chorus, the eerie silence of the night's veil. And sitting together around the table before their first ever day at school, out of their minds with anxiety. They were still naïve children, new to the world. They had seen each other through it all.

It had been days since Haruhi had set eyes upon the amazingly elaborate gates of the dojo, the traditional buildings with the gently tended flowers dotted around the edges by an enthusiastic Tohru. This magnificently nurtured bit of land had been Haruhi's beginning. It was the beginning of her world, and it was her entire world. As they exited the car and walked silently up to the gate, with a sudden jolt of anticipation, Haruhi felt the unique and unmistakeable presence of fellow Zodiacs. The wavelength of the cursed, and Haku had referred to it once upon a time.

"Tsuneo!" she gasped. She slapped her hand to her mouth.

"I know. I can sense it too… they're here."

"Who's here?" Tohru asked with a smile. "Did you notice something Tsuneo, Haruhi?"

"Yeah- they're here! The others! I knew it! We have to go in!" Haruhi yelled, leaping up in the air. She did a fist pump and charge through the gates, ignoring all her surroundings and flinging open the door of their home.

Tsuneo, Kyo and Tohru eventually managed to catch up, and Haruhi was still frozen at the door, grinning like an idiot.

Shuddering, she felt the twinge of excitement.

"Sora! Raiden! Haku! Naoko, and Ben too! We're all back!" she bellowed. She was pretty certain than people in the next town on would be able to pick up her shouts. Tsuneo covered his ears, his eyes watering. "You can come out now!"

Eventually, after Haruhi had almost fainted with impatience and eagerness, Haku emerged from a down the hall, in the familiar green kimono. His silvery hair shimmered under the streaming sunlight that came through the front door, and he looked oddly like an angel, even though his tired, strained features were thrown into great relief by the extra light. In a way, these imperfections were what made him some form of perfect.

"You can stop yelling now… I mean, do you have to do that?" he said irritably.

"Still the same old Haku…" she joked.

He sighed, and to her surprise, a small smile crept into one corner of his mouth. His expression softened. "It's good to see that both you and Tsuneo are just fine. Sora will faint with joy."

"Hehe… I knew I could count on all of you!" she grinned. "Let's go in, Tsuneo!" She tugged on Tsuneo's hand, and they were walking through the hallway, brushing past all the pictures that hung on the walls, a timeline of their lives.

^_^*O*O*O*^_^*O*O*O*^_^

They all looked incredibly worse for wear; that was certain enough. Haku looked as exhausted as ever, but with additional cuts and bruises, and Sora was completely untouched but looking utterly drained, with Ben staring at her in concern. Naoko was sat, grinning up at her, bruised and beat all to hell.  
>However, it was Raiden who bore some truly terrible injuries. He cradled his right arm as if it were damaged, and he had a black eye, and his nose looked broken; this wasn't to say that he didn't have cuts all over his body too, and quite a large wound on his right cheek that looked like it needed stitches. Nevertheless, he wore a serene and slightly proud look on his face.<p>

Haruhi laughed with happiness and shock. "What the hell happened to you all?!" she said in wonder.

"We could say the same to you. That wound on your head looks terrible," Raiden commented. "Why haven't you bled to death?"

"Er…" She cleared her throat. What a creep, as usual. In an endearing kind of way. "Anyway, like I said, what the hell happened? You look barely recognisable, Raiden! Geez, Akito didn't go easy on you, did she? Did you make some kind of smarmy comment?"

"No," Haku said aggressively. He grabbed Haruhi's wrist. "Raiden was trying to shield me from Akito. I said something I shouldn't have, and Raiden got in front of me before Akito."

Haruhi gasped. "Oh… Sorry." Her eyes found their way to Raiden, who looked back with a commiserative smile.

"I guess I just wasn't fast enough to dodge, eh…" he said, with a small attempt at humour. Haruhi did not smile. A creep, maybe, but a great, great friend.

"You all need some rest!" Tohru jumped in. "I'll make you all some tea. You really deserve it!"

"Thanks!" they chorused. Haruhi sighed cheerfully. It sounded like the old days.

Suddenly, Sora gave a small scream. She had a look of pure horror on her face, and tears began to roll thick and fast down her cheeks. She clutched to Ben as if he were the one consistent thing in a world that was crumbling to pieces all around her.

"Ben… Oh, Ben…" she moaned quietly. "It's… It's…!"

"What is it? Sora, please, just tell me!" he urged.

Everyone was every scared. Haruhi had no idea what was happening. Sora looked completely devastated. What was wrong with her? She was totally fine, content a few seconds ago. What had changed?  
>Change.<p>

Haruhi felt her knees buckle and she fell slowly in an arc to the ground. Tsuneo did the same, and quite soon, all the Zodiacs felt a horrendous pain in their hearts.

"What the hell is going on?" Ben cried.

Haruhi muffled a sob. "I guess she was more frail than we thought... She's… Please, she's…"

Kyo rushed into the room, mobile in hand.

"What is it?" Ben asked.

Kyo's face was grave and solemn. "Akito has died."


	20. Chapter 20 The End

**Final chapter- The end**  
><em><br>"A part of you has grown in me, together forever we shall be, never apart, maybe in distance, but not in the heart."_

Haruhi's mind had been separated from her body. She was sat in maybe the fourth row back, Tohru's arm around her, shielding her from, possibly, herself.

Tsuneo was stood in the row behind, next to Hiro. With the same blank look on both their faces, their resemblance was made more obvious. He wore a western suit and Haruhi suddenly realised what a man he looked. She suddenly felt a gush of affection inside for the man behind her. She was lucky to have him with her through all of this. She had known she was lucky from that very first bewildering day.

Her eyes surveyed the group of people stood in the building. Even the servants from the main house were present. In the front row was Shigure, Kureno, and a strange black-haired, slightly old woman who looked curiously like Akito. She also had the same cold stare, and seemed not to care very much about the reason why everyone was gathered. Shigure glanced at her, appearing very uncomfortable. Haku was with his parents, Raiden, Naoko, Yuki and a nervous-looking Machi. Haku still had purple circles under his eyes; he gave a characteristic hacking cough, and Raiden patted him on the back.

"And now, we have some words from the young people… I believe the young lady Haruhi will say a few words." The coroner spoke softly.

"Up you go," Tohru whispered.__

Haruhi nodded numbly.

The platform was much too high.

"Akito was… Something beyond words to us," she began. She felt like her soul was adrift in oceans of madness, peering down, watching her mouth move up and down as she spoke the words she truly felt. "There have been many times in my life where I've hated, feared, cried and wished to end it all. Maybe refusing to eat anything, deliberately making a rude comment or making a run for it. Any of them would knock me down hard. But, as this past year has taught me, I shouldn't have taken any of that for granted. We all shouldn't have. We should have looked at the bigger picture and considered that there was someone hurting deeply inside that fragile body. Akito needed us all, and although we separated once, that parting was wrong because we all needed each other. She's gone now, our deity has passed on, but her soul lingers and it's our job to put things right again. The way things were supposed to end last time.  
>Akito- No matter how high the walls were, we were supposed to surpass them together. Hey, we had a promise… right? But thank you, friend. Akito, you can sleep easy now; we can all walk on our own. We were guided from the beginning, and now you're no longer here with us, we have to find ways to carry on without you. I wanted to stay awake… and now, looking back, I kind of wish we had been given more time to do things right instead of hurting each other."<p>

Haruhi stepped down from the platform, and tried her best to smile. Then, a grin spread across her face. "The years might have been hard, but they are what made me who I am."

Haruhi felt at ease for once. It was a sad occasion, but now her life could begin afresh. Everything was new, there was a whole other world out there, just waiting to be explored, and she had to see it all.  
>They each walked past Akito, bowed at her silent face, and went to stand in a close bunch. Tsuneo slipped his hand into hers and sewed his fingers in. He squeezed her hand in encouragement.<p>

"Tsuneo, you okay?" she asked.

"Yes…" he mumbled. "I cannot believe it's over. Being together with Akito was really more of a burden than anything else, but still you can't help but feel kind of…"

"Sad?"

"Sad… that's it."

He seemed totally calm.

In fact, everyone was calm, even Haku. His head tilted upward slightly, like he was looking for something above. There was a totally serene expression on his face. Somehow, he looked less tried and ill when his face was softer this way. Raiden looked downward, his dark hair covering his eyes. Haruhi swore she could see a small smile playing on his lips, a smirk, almost. He held Naoko's hand, and she looked boldly ahead, tearless and assured. Her strength was incredible. In ways, she was one of the strongest one of the lot of them.

"You know," Haku muttered, "We could never hate Akito, for all she did. If we think back and listen to those creatures inside us, ignore our human thoughts, then we can see that things just needed to be resolved between them. It couldn't be one-sided apology or forgiveness."

"Yeah, I know," she replied, not looking at him. "I realised that on the way home last week. I think everyone was being just a bit selfish. Akito, you, me, everyone. The curse wasn't even a curse. We made it that way."

He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "Anyway, can you feel it?"

"Yeah, it's over."

Haku sighed, put his hand on his stomach and face downward with his eyes shut. "Bye, old friend."

They knew what was coming.

It wasn't long before the force of it came and hit them like a wrecking ball. Tsuneo put his arm around Haruhi, and they both waited for it to end. Before they knew it, beady tears escaped their eyes, and the curse was breaking right before them. The souls within them had reached an agreement at long last. Akito was at rest…

Haruhi muttered, "The parting hurts. There's a pain in my heart… that won't subside… Akito…"

And she thought it was happening inside her head, but she heard a reply. "Thank you… Thank you very much. That old promise… is now dissolved. You've done it… That last thing I wanted to say to you… was thank you. From the bottom of my heart."

The words were spoken into her soul.

_Once upon a time in a particular place, there lived a person. The person was alone, for a long, long time. After leaving the mountain, this person learned that many, many people lived below it. But this person was still alone. Even with a thousand powers and a thousand lives… and a thousand memories, this person learned that such things were different from what most other people had. And this… developed a fear of other people… A fear of getting hurt. This person was afraid of being different from others. One day, a cat came to visit. The person was bewildered by the sudden visitor. The cat bowed his head reverently. "I have humbly watched you for a long time," he said. "You are a very mysterious person. I cannot stop being attracted to you. I am merely a stray cat… but please let me be by your side. Please, Lord God."_

_God said, "We will all be friends… until the end of time. We will be permanent…"_

_And they each took a sip from the cup of eternal life._

_"Please, Lord God," the cat implored, "I don't want eternity. Please, let us just accept that things end. I know it's sad… But let us accept that lives depart. If by some chance we are reincarnated and meet again, I don't want to see you in the moonlight. I want to see you under the light of the sun as well… with not just us, but smiling within a ring of people."_

_And, although the promise was reluctant, unwanted, when God faced death alone, he was not afraid. God supported the promise made by the others. The ancient, age-old promise._

_The first promise._

_"We will hold our banquets for as many times as we want… for as long as we wish. Without changing."_

_Did everyone forget that promise? Who is there for me now?_

* * *

><p>Hi! Haruhi Sohma here.<br>The past year has been pretty crazy… I escaped from Sohma house, found my awesome mum and badass dad, found my Zodiac family, found Tsuneo and made friends. I went to school for the first time, and I grew up a bit, too.

We all cried when it happened. We mourned Akito's passing. We broke the curse, delivered it willingly into the hands of death for the second time, and hopefully, this time it would stay there.

Who knows if it will come back? All I know is, from my years as a Sohma, that while our hearts beat, hope will linger.

God, do you still believe in us?

__

_...They're coming. They're all waiting for me on the other side of that promise._

* * *

><p>Thank you for reading. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed (if you haven't, please do!). This is by far one of the best things I've worked on, and I couldn't have done it without support from readers. Thank you all!<p> 


End file.
